For You, I Would Take the Shot
by TruthTellerMorrigan
Summary: Her mind drifted to how they must have fallen in love. She didn't know much about their love story, although she had had been told bits and pieces by various family members. But as she watched them smile at one another just now, one thing became clear - this was worth a battle. Post Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

_-Forward-_

"YOU!"

"GERROPHME!"

"SCORPIOUS!"

*CRACK*

"FUCK!"

"WHAT are you doing?" screamed Rose as she watched blood pour from Scorpius's freshly punched face.

"You don't understand. This is for Rose." The man yelled.

"Fuck." Scorpions repeated, only this time his expression twisted into one of utter exasperation when the stranger yelled Rose's name in vindication.

"Who the bloody hell are you?"

"It doesn't matter," the stranger said harshly. "I have to find Rose."

"You Prick." Rose said in astonishment as she placed a hand to Scorpius's face. She knew heads were beginning to turn in their direction, but she was hardly going to keep her voice down now to avoid a scene. Not with Scorpius bleeding all over the place.

Scorpius balled up his fists, but Rose placed a hand across his arms to stop the blonde from making a grand gesture that would ultimately be more trouble than it was worth. "Don't…"

But before Rose could say more, a gruff yell echoed across the room.

"What now?" Scorpius bemoaned as he searched over the chaos filled crowd to locate the disturbance.

"James!"

"Stop him!"

"FUCK YOU."

*CRACK*

"What happened?"

The room was silent as the question hung in the air.

Harry Potter removed his glasses and gripped the bridge of his nose. The years of flying had weathered his hands, and his job had taken a toll on his body, but it was his this… this set Harry on edge more than any of his other anxieties.

"James, I don't even know where to begin with you."

Harry's eldest son, James, cast his eyes away from his father. Ginny was pressing ice to her oldest son's swollen jaw- a gesture that Harry appreciated. He knew she could easily fix the break with magic, but was holding back so James could suffer a little longer. It was a small gesture Harry and one of the many that made him thankful Ginny was his partner; that woman really could read his mind sometimes.

"Lily, I know _you_ must have something to say."

Lily Potter looked up from where she sat slumped on against the wall. Roxy Weasley leaned next to her and squeezed her hand in silent camaraderie.

"I'm sorry, Da-." Lily's voice broke.

"It's not me you should be apologizing too, Lily, and I think you know that."

Lily covered her face.

Harry looked around the room. "What were you all thinking?"

-Present-

* * *

Trying to sleep was pointless.

Lily had worked a full trainee shift at Saint Mungo's that day, and was now in the midst of trying to switch her brain into its off mode. But there was no relaxing. There was no resting. The light bulb within her mind would not shut off. It always seemed like night was when she was wide eyed and ready to re-evaluate the events of the day prior.

On this night, Lily was using the extra space in her bed to fill with her medical text books. It just seemed to make sense- she was awake, she liked to read, and she had the room. What was the harm? She stretched out her legs and tabbed to the section on counter charms- one of her favorites.

The hour was late and the flat was quiet- a perfect time to snuggle up with a book. So when Lily's flat door opened and closed with a loud bang, she started immediately.

"Lily? You still up?" she heard a distant voice yell.

The bedroom door opened before the texts books could be stashed under the bed and in the closet. Roxy Weasley strolled easily, eyeing the medical journals, quills, and parchment with distaste. "I saw your light," she said. "I was hoping maybe you were with a bloke."

Lily rolled her eyes. "So, you thought the best thing to do in that particular scenario would be to stop in and introduce yourself?"

"Okay, so I knew you probably weren't with a man." She jumped onto Lily's bed and nestled herself into her cousin's neck, scattering tombs and quills as she went. "Forgive me?"

Lily pushed her cousin back and frantically reached for her dispersed belongings. "Some of those are borrowed!"

"Oh, Merlin you sound like Rose."

"Go away."

"Oh humph! Don't you want to know what I've been doing tonight?"

"A bloke?"

"Charming. Actually, I was with _Rose_."

That caught Lily's attention. "Rose? She's been out of touch for months. With her…"

"Her boyfriend, yes." Roxy spat the word _boyfriend_. "But they broke up."

"No!"

"YES!"

Lily laughed at the joyous expression on her cousin's face. Roxy was never one to suppress her true opinion, and the pure expression of glee on her face was contagious. Lily giggled as her cousin cheerfully jumped up and down on the bed, knocking over a few of Lily's rescued textbooks in the process. She knew they should probably feel guilty for celebrating their cousin's breakup, but…

"I did not like him," Lily finished her thought out loud.

"You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who liked Daft-in ."

Lily snorted. "You're still saying his name wrong? STILL?"

"Oh he didn't mind," Roxy muttered.

"Daffin was hardly a great name to begin with. You know Victoire's daughter started calling him Daffy because of you."

"I know! It was one of the few pleasures I experienced from being near him. Without his name, there'd be absolutely no point in being around him."

Lily laughed. "You didn't say that to Rose, did you?"

Roxy didn't even try to hide her enthusiastic smile. "I did."

"Oh Roxy…."

"What was I supposed to do? She asked me what I thought of him. You know sometimes I feel like the only honest one in this family. She'll thank me for being so upfront with her one day- just you wait."

"Don't hold your breath."

* * *

Albus Potter checked his watched as he stumbled through his flat.

He heaved a heavy sigh before opening his flat door to reveal his bashful cousin.

"Rose," Albus said heavily. "What time is it?"  
The pretty red head smiled at her grumpy cousin. "I think 2."

"2 in the morning, Rose." Albus looked suspiciously at the bags slung over Rose's arm. She smiled sweetly again. Albus rolled his eyes, and swung the door wide to let her enter. "What have you done? Nothing illegal hopefully?" Albus watched Rose closely.

He could tell she was tired- she had dark circles under her eyes. That didn't surprise Albus. He knew she always worried herself sick about even the smallest details. She worked herself to the bone at her fancy high level ministry position to live up to the standard expected of Hermione Granger's daughter. What did surprise Albus were the red eyes that indicated Rose had been crying. He considered himself a close friend of Rose Weasley, but that girl never cried unless it was serious.

"Oh, Albie, shush. Can't a witch just visit her favorite cousin at 2 in the morning with no ulterior motives?"

She flashed Albus a huge grin. Overcompensating, Albus thought wryly.

"How's Daffin?" Albus asked. Maybe he would have been more willing to play Rose's little game at a different time. But she was standing in front of him now, and at 2am he wasn't interested.

The feeling in the room changed immediately. No longer, bright and bubbly, Rose narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her cousin.

Albus smiled.

"Things not going well in paradise?"

"Who told you? Roxy?" Rose asked, slumping unhappily onto the nearby sofa couch.

Albus barked a cruel laugh. "Rose, you've shown up at my flat unannounced in the middle of the night with your things in tow. If you hadn't broken up with the prick, it would have been grounds for an intervention."

Rose groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"You know," Albus said as he waved his wand to make up the sofa for Rose, "I love you and all that shite, but I think Roxy and Lily's flat would've been the more obvious choice. Plus, Roxy probably would have actually been _awake_."

"Yes, sorry about waking you. But I couldn't go there." Rose shook her head as if to emphasize the point. "Roxy would have loved to throw that in my face. No, sorry. I have too much pride."

Albus laughed. "Rose, if it wasn't so early, _I_ would throw it in your face too. But don't worry, I won't hold him against you. I'm just glad you've tossed Dull Daffy once and for all."

Rose tossed her cousin a look. "You don't really call him that, do you?"

"No! Of course not. Dominique did. I preferred Prick myself," Albus said as he summoned a blanket for Rose.

She ignored the remark, and thanked for the blanket him with a yawn.

"Would you mind if I stayed for a few days while I try to find a new flat?"

"What's mine is yours. You know you're my favorite," Al said as he walked towards his bedroom. "You know, after Teddy… and Roxy… and Louis…and Fred…and Hugo…"

"Ha ha ha…"

* * *

"Important meeting today- don't be late!"

Scorpius was only able to catch the very end of the patronus message before it disappeared. "Don't be late," he muttered to himself as he sat up in bed. He tossed a look at the mirror across the room, showcasing his rumpled blonde hair. "Am I ever late?"

His reflection smirked cockily. "There's a first time for everything."

"Bloody reflection thinks he's better than me," Scorpius mumbled as he checked his bedside clock and stepped onto the cold floor. He opened his closet door, and began to rummage around for the familiar green robes he wore every day that signified his healer. "Dirty, dirty, dirty…everything is bloody dirty."

"With a mouth like that I'd imagine so."

Scorpius growled at his reflection once before yanking open his bedroom door and heading for the laundered clothes.

His mum had gifted the charmed mirror to Scorpius as a joke one birthday, and Scorpius had welcomed the goofy present as a nice change from the usual formal gifts Malfoys decided were appropriate to give to one another. Merlin knows Scorpius had been given enough crest- emblazoned dress robes to be able to attend every ministry ball until the end of time.

But now that he was in his mid-twenties, the mirror was seeming less and less charming and more and more of a nuisance.

"Ah hah!" Scorpius declared as he reached the basket of clean clothes he knew would be waiting at the end of the hallway. At the very top of the laundered pile was a fresh set of green robes, and Scorpius snatched them up and cheered. "No dirty robes for me!"

He was about to turn left into the kitchen to begin warming up the kettle when a flash of bright white made him do a double take.

Scorpius smirked as he moved closer to the couch, and realized his eyes were not deceiving him. There was in fact a white bra thrown over the back of their sofa. Scorpius looked around the dark room and spotted a pair of black trousers on the floor nearby.

He shook his head in amusement.

Well at least one of them was getting a leg over, he thought wryly. Scorpius was working such long hours at the hospital, the only women he ever saw were either sick patients or off limits coworkers. Scorpius began to turn away to begin making his morning tea when a movement made him look closer.

Scorpius craned his head over the back of the couch and caught sight of a pair of long creamy legs sticking out from underneath a blanket. Scorpius, shocked to find a woman lying on his sofa, immediately looked around the room. If a female guest was out here, then surely Albus was with her?

Scorpius looked back at the woman, and only then did he notice her curly red hair sticking out from behind the sofa cushion.

Scorpius rolled his eyes.

He grabbed the cushion, and promptly used it to smack Rose Weasley in the face.


	2. Chapter 2

-Rose-

"Arggg!"

Thinking she was being attacked, Rose thrashed under her blankets and reached blindly for the side table where she had set her wand.

"That's your punishment," someone said, and Rose felt the pillow with which she had previously been attacked being tossed into her lap. "For scaring me."

Rose, eyes squinting with sleep, sat up and looked over the back of the couch to see Scorpius Malfoy standing in the dark living room, a pair of green Healer's robes folded under his arm.

"Erghh! _I_ scared _you_?" Rose groaned before throwing the pillow back at Scorpius angrily. "You basically smothered me!"

"You made me think you were a bum who snuck into my flat. As a healer, I know for a fact that trauma like that can take years off a person's life."

Rose let out a loud sigh of exasperation. "It's hardly my fault Al is rubbish at relaying information," she said wearily as she lay back down and snuggled back into her make-shift bed. "I forgot you lived here."

"You flatter me."

Scorpius straightened his robes over his arm. Rose took in his rumpled appearance and the fresh robes he now held before him. It seemed Scorpius had probably just woken up and was getting ready for work. A look outside showed it was still dark, but here Scorpius was standing before here getting ready to start his day. She shouldn't have been surprised; Lily was always talking about the strange hours they were required to work at Mungo's. Roses barely thought about the fact that her cousin and Scorpius had simillar jobs in the past, but now as he stood before her clutching the Healer's robes that Lily had spoken of so many times in the past, Rose couldn't help but wonder how this man before her and Lily Potter got along at work. Were they friends? Good friends? Rose felt a quick sense of embarassment at the fact that she didn't even know. How long had it been since she had last chatted with her cousin?

"So why are you camped out on my sofa, Rose?"

"I figured you wouldn't appreciate me climbing into your bed."

"I'll always appreciate you in my bed, Weasley."

Rose smile sleepily at Scorpius. Truthfully, she and Scorpius had never been committed to each other. In Hogwarts they had shared kisses between moments of high tension, but nothing serious had ever panned out. And then after Hogwarts, the pair never seemed to cross paths, even though they had several friends in common. However, Rose would be lying to herself if she said she didn't enjoy Scorpius's flirting. After everything that had recently happened, it certainly didn't _hurt_ to have a bloke smile at her like that.

In fact, she would go as far to say she felt oddly comforted by Scorpius's playful flirting. Her relationship with Daffin had been nothing short of disastrous, so exchanging flirty comments with Scorpius was like taking a deep breath of air after surfacing from months underwater.

Rose watched as Scorpius shifted his gaze towards the couch. Her neck flushed with heat as she spotted exactly what had captured his attention. Because she had left Daffin's in such a hurry last night, she hadn't brought any night wear with her, so she just slept in her shirt and knickers. She had actually forgotten, until that moment anyway, that she had carelessly tossed her bra over the back of the couch with her jeans before falling asleep last night.

Scorpius picked up Rose's bra and tossed it at her. "You can't leave these things around if you're going to sleep here. It distracts us men."

Rose scoffed. "I doubt my cousin would mind."

"Fine. It distracts _me_."

Rose smiled. She winked dramatically at him. "There's more where that came from, Scorpius."

Scorpius laughed loudly.

"You Weasley women are such trouble."

"Oh dear. Exactly how many Weasleys have been through here? I'm not going to find Roxy's bra in your room, am I?"

"Not Roxy's. Dominique though…."

Rose threw a cushion at him.

"I'm kidding. Dominique deserves a nice hotel room at the very least."

"Don't you have someplace to be?" she asked pointedly as she settled back into her warm blankets.

"So you're not going to tell me why you slept here last night?" Scorpius asked as he walked towards the hallway.

Rose sighed, "It's nothing bad."

"Suit yourself," he said, "Until next time, Rose."

Rose watched Scoprius walk back towards his bedroom to get ready for work.

As she lay by herself, she couldn't help but grin thinking of how charming Scorpius was. She had always considered the Slytherin Al and Lily's friend first. Lily had been friends with Scorpius because they both worked at St. Mungo's, and then Albus and Scorpius had been joined at the hip since 1st year. Those two had always been difficult to separate.

Rose had only become friendlier with Scorpius when he began attending family functions as a guest of Al's in their later days of Hogwarts. Their few kisses had been perfect for 2 people looking to relieve tension and also rebel against their parents. But once real life took over, Rose put her career first before anything or anyone. Which may have been the reason her relationships had been so riddled with problems.

Rose knew Scorpius worked at St. Mungos with Lily. They were on similar Healer schedules. Also, Scorpius was two years more experienced in Healing than Lily, so she probably considered him a mentor of some kind.

Rose's mind drifted back once more to their flirty exchange. She thought she probably should feel embarrassed for her forward comments, but she instead felt relieved, as if a bubble of pent up sexual frustration (courtesy of her ex, Daffin) had finally been punctured.

Shr gathered her legs to her chest as Scorpius's face flew to the front of her mind. One thing was clear, Scorpius Malfoy was bloody fit.

Rose let out a breathy laugh as she waved the thought away.

"Get yourself together, Rose."

-Lily-

Lily blew at the red fringe that fell over her forehead. Everyone in St. Mungos already knew who she was because she was Harry Potter's daughter, and she certainly made it easier for others to spot her with her fire engine head. Even the bloody patients stopped her in the corridors to tell her how much they admired her father. How much they respected her aunt. How much they thought she looked like her mum.

She didn't actually look like her mum. Strangers said that to be nice. But Ginny Potter was an idolized beautfy. She was a athlete with a tiny frame perfect for catching speed on a broom. And Lily had seen enough pictures of Ginny when she was younger to know that her mum had kept a much longer, free flowing hair style. With Lily's work life at the hospital, it was much harder to maintain such a glamorous life as a professional Quidditch Player. But she knew her parents didn't care. They had always favored Lily- that

She turned as the toilet flushed and the door of the loo opened to reveal her patient.

"Ah, Mrs. Clark, I just arrived. Can I help you back in to bed?" Lily approached her patient with an extended arm.

Mrs. Clark scoffed. "In my day the Healer would knock before entering a patient's room." She ignored Lily's hand and sat down on the hospital bed by herself.

Lily smiled. Mrs. Clark was one of the more lively patients at Mungo's, and while others steered clear of her dominant personality, Lily rather like Mrs. Clark's spark.

"I've retrieved your test results," Lily continued. She flipped the pages on her clipboard. "And we've analyzed that your jinx is comprised of the same properties as a common mouth itching jinx, so I've consulted Healer McGreggor, and he agrees that a simple Mouth Itching Antidote should relieve any further itching symptoms."

"You should be making these decisions without McGreggor, that old trodger," Mrs. Clark said grumpily. She shook her finger at Lily. "You work much harder than him. Young Healers are what this establishment needs to survive, I should think. "

"Mrs. Clark, you know I'm still technically a trainee," she said in defense of her boss, though she couldn't help the smile that tugged at her mouth as Mrs. Clark mocked Healer McGreggor's age.

"I'm sick, not blind, Potter," Mrs. Clark said with an irritated scoff. "I know hard work when I see it, and you work much too hard to give your credit to those less deserving." She folded her hands with purpose. "I'll hear no more about it."

Lily nodded. After dealing with Mrs. Clark for this extended time, she knew that when the woman wanted to move on from a point, she did.

Lily consulted her chart before speaking again. "We've also—"

"I've."

"—Pardon?"

"Potter, do you want to become a Healer one day?"

Lily nodded. Then spoke up, "Yes, ma'am."

"Then you've have got to stop with this 'we' business. If you do not start representing yourself, no one else will." She raised her thin eyebrows in a scrutinizing manner. Lily nodded silently. "Now," Mrs. Clark gestured at Lily's chart. "Please continue."

" _I've_ prescribed you Magi-Me-More."

Mrs. Clark groaned. "Those pills are for old people."

Lily smiled.

"We prescribe them to enhance magic because studies show that magical strength can lessen once a witch or wizard exceeds 100, and we want to make sure you are strong enough to keep the side effects from your jinx from returning." Lily raised her eyebrows at Mrs. Clark, as if daring her to contradict her advice.

"Fine. Now," she said as she laid back in her hospital bed. "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you about your hair?"

Lily surveyed Mrs. Clark over her clipboard.

"You were frowning in my mirror AND you've been stroking it the whole time you were giving my diagnosis. I would advise against that in the future, by the way. Unhygienic."

Lily put her hands on her hips, trying to gain back her authority in this situation. "Fine," she sighed, deciding to tell the truth. "I'm thinking of…charming it a different color." Saying it out loud was much more difficult than thinking about it secretly.

Mrs. Clark scoffed and waved her hand as if to say, "How foolish."

Lily, offended by Mrs. Clark's reaction, found herself wanting to defend her choice, even though she had thought relatively little about it before that morning. "Oh let me guess! _In my day, ladies would not even consider such a thing,_ " she said, mimicking Mrs. Clark's posh accent. "Well, my hair color doesn't define me and if I want to change it, _I will!"_

Mrs. Clark was silent.

Lily rewound her words in her mind, and immediately felt herself flush realizing she had just yelled at a patient. _Shite._

Mrs. Clark smiled as she took in Lily's horrified expression. "Potter," she said softly. "I don't think it's silly of you to dye your hair, I think it's silly to waste your time weighing the pros and cons. You're not a muggle. If you don't like your hair color, wave your wand and do something about it." Mrs. Clark spoke so bluntly that Lily was sure her face resembled that of a tomato. "What insignificant problems you have."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Lily muttered.

"You're forgiven. Now get out."

-Scorpius-

"I yelled at a patient today," Lily said as she and Scorpius walked together towards their boss's office. Healer McGreggor had called a meeting, and Lily and Scorpius's names were on the summons.

"That sounds about right."

"I hate you."

"Rose slept on our sofa last night."

"Daffin kicked her out?" Lily asked sympathetically. "I wish she would've come to ours."

"Hmm?" Scorpius asked as he caught a charmed clipboard heading toward him. He let Lily's words sink in as he glanced at the words on the clipboard, which suddenly seemed fuzzy and not at all legible. "Who's that?"

"Who's what? Oh, you've never met her boyfriend? How have you managed that? Lucky sod…" she muttered.

"You're not a fan?" Scorpius asked, wondering himself how he could've not known Rose had a live-in boyfriend. Had he really been working that many hours at the hospital?

"He's just so arrogant." Scorpius could tell from Lily's tone that she was serious about this disapproval. "I barely ever saw Rose when they were together. I didn't understand the match, honestly. He's dreadful and Rose is so…so…"

"Not. Yeah," Scorpius said, remembering their flirty conversation from that morning.

 _There's more where that came from, Scorpius._

"She didn't mention him at all?" Lily asked.

"Who?" Scorpius tried to remember what Lily had asked him as he pulled his thoughts away from the way Rose's lips tugged upwards when they had spoken that morning.

Lily laughed. "Daffin! The boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend, right. So they didn't break up?" Scorpius asked.

Lily looked away, suddenly evasive. "I can't speak for Rose. But you saw her this morning, not me. What did you think?"

"She seemed…single."

Lily tisked skeptically. "Says the bloke who didn't even know she was in a relationship."

Scorpius laughed. "Fair enough."

"Still, I wonder if she'll reconsider and stay with me and Roxy." Lily turned to Scorpius and pushed him in excitement. "It'd be almost like Hogwarts again. Oh, I should owl her!"

Scorpius rubbed his arm. "Owl her and say what?" Scorpius impersonated Lily with a high squeaky voice. "Dear Rosie, you get chucked out of your flat? Poor luck, darling, but I have an available room and I'd just love the extra rent money. Cheers!"

Lily scoffed. "Shows what you know. I'd obviously add an extra fluffer paragraph before immediately asking for money."

Scorpius couldn't say anything more about the subject, for they arrived at Healer McGreggor's office, where the other Healers were all gathered, and beginning to pass around sparkling juice.

-Lily-

"Who?"

Lily laughed at her friend's inability to stay focused. But then again, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised- Scorpius had always been bored by her family's petty gossip and drama. It was probably the reason Al enjoyed his company even after all these years post Hogwarts. "Daffin! The boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend, right. So they didn't break up?"

Lily didn't want to confirm Rose's breakup. Just because Roxy's had to gossip about Rose's personal life to everyone, didn't mean Lily felt comfortable doing the same. But there was more than not wanting to talk behind her cousin's back. When Roxy and Lily were laughing about Dopey Daffin, it felt like silly banter. But something about how Scoprius was asking questions made Lily keep quiet. "I can't speak for Rose. But you saw her this morning, not me. What did you think?"

"She seemed…single."

"Says the bloke who didn't even know she was in a relationship."

"Fair enough."

"Still, I wonder if she'll reconsider and stay with me and Roxy. It'd be almost like Hogwarts again. Oh, I should owl her!"

Lily rolled her eyes when Scorpius raised the pitch of his voice to impersonate her. As she listened to him. She opened a door for Scorpius as they walked to Healer McGreggor's office.

Lily took in the others who were gathered, and began to think she had read the summoning memo incorrectly. Everyone gathered was a full time Healer, and she herself was still a trainee. Granted, she was a third year, and did most of the same jobs of the full time Healers, but she still wore different colored robes and had to introduce herself to patients as Trainee Healer Potter. As she stood in a sea of lime green robes, she suddenly regretted not checking the memo twice to see if any of her trainee coworkers had been summoned.

She felt her face flush, knowing others were probably beginning to stare. She mumbled to Scorpius, "I think I made a mistake."

Not wanting to take extra time to explain her mix memo mix up, Lily tried to quickly move backwards out of the crowd, but Scorpius caught her wrist. Before Lily could argue with him, Healer McGregor quieted the crowd.

Too late, Lily thought. She shiftily looked around at the others who were gathered. Was she really the only trainee healer here? Why hadn't Scorpius bothered to mention the memo hadn't been for her when they were walking toward Healer McGreggor's office. Lily was caught between wanting to curse Scorpius and wanting to go die in the corner, embarrassed by her memo mix up.

Then, Healer McGreggor began to speak. He caught sight of Lily (damn obvious hair), and raised his glass of bubbling juice.

"Our guest of honor has arrived!"

Lily looked behind her to see her colleagues smiling. "What?" she asked quietly, not wanting to talk too loud, for fear that they were not actually looking at her.

"To Lily Potter, St. Mungo's newest Healer!" Healer McGreggor said loudly. "Congratulations, Potter."

-Rose-

Rose applied yet another cushioned charm to her pointy black heels. She was currently sitting in her office with her leg held in front of her as she examined her foot. Why did pretty shoes have to be so bloody painful?

She sighed as she put her foot back down and turned back to her desk. She dipped her quill and started revising a letter to her mum. It should've been easy, except that she was supposed to be writing to the Minister for Magic as the Head of Magical Rights and Welfare, but it was much easier to write to her Mum. If it's formal business, would it be completely unprecedented to send a letter addressed 'Dear Mum'?

"Hey," Albus said, sticking his head into her office.

"Hey!" Rose yelled, happy for the distraction. "Come in!"

Albus smirked at his cousin's strange enthusiasm; these days when he showed up unannounced she always seemed to be in the middle of some important project.

"I brought you a treat," Al said as he dropped a Sugarplum's Sweet's bag onto her desk.

"No!" Rose exclaimed happily. She rifled through the bag before pulling out the pumpkin pasties she knew were waiting at the bottom.

"I still don't understand your obsession with those. Maybe in first year it made sense, but there are so many other better sweets—"

"They smell like fall," Rose said with a content smile as she unwrapped the treat. "Is this your way of saying sorry for not telling Scorpius about me staying the night?"

Albus scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that. He owled me earlier wanting to know how long you were staying. He said Lily was wondering why you didn't stay with her."

"Ofcourse she was. Bloody nosey. So," Rose said, happy to change the subject. "You went all the way to Diagon Alley for me, huh?"

Albus seemed taken aback by the question. "Oh. Well…it's a nice day for a stroll."

Rose looked up at the change in Albus's tone. "Stroll?"

Albus shrugged. "Can't a bloke stroll?"

Rose shifted her gaze back to her treats, pausing a beat to gather her words. "Did you happen to stroll through The Leaky?"

Rose didn't want to believe it, but as the question left Rose's lips, Albus shifted uncomfortable and looked away. Rose knew The Sugarplum Sweet Shop just around the corner from The Leaky Cauldron, which was had become something of a crutch to her cousin. He had become obsessive about visiting the bar after his Hogwart's graduation. While an oblivious outsider would think Al's behavior suggested alcoholic tendencies, Rose knew it was much deeper and more complicated than that. In fact, she almost wished his problem was alcohol related because at least then she would know how to go about finding a cure.

Al's obsession with The Leaky was less about the bar and more about the memories. Specifically, the times spent there with his ex-girlfriend, Hannah Longbottom II.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rose asked softly.

"Do you want to talk about Daffin?" he snapped.

"Fine," Rose said curtly, folding her arms.

"Fine."

The cousins were silent.

"She wasn't there anyway," Al said quietly. Rose bit her lip, contemplating her words.

"Well ofcourse not," she said, pushing out a chair to him with her foot. "She's not supposed to get back until Friday."

Albus took the seat silently. "Everything about that place reminds me of her."

Rose nodded. She had heard Al say these things before.

"She's so amazing."

"Hannah is a very likable person," Rose agreed, keeping her voice steady.

Rose wasn't just saying these things to appease her cousin. Hannah Longbottom II was truly a very sweet and genuine person. In Hogwarts, she was well liked by everyone and with good reason; she wasn't fond of gossip, and she seemed to have something in common with every person she met, so she was a natural conversationalist. Slughorn, Rose remembered, adored her, not because she was academically brilliant, but merely because she spoke with such enthusiasm and conviction.

Hannah was Lily's age, which meant she had been a fifth year when she and Al began dating. Their relationship had seemed perfect to those around them, Rose included. They seemed utterly compatible; Albus went out of his way to befriend students in other houses and Hannah could charm a portrait. When they broke up at Albus's graduation, the couple made it seem like it was a mutual decision and a separation of friendship.

It was an entire year later before Albus confessed his secret to Rose drunkenly one night.

 _"I still love her."_

 _Lily stopped drinking her own firewhisky, thinking she had misheard. "Pardon?"_

 _"I never wanted to break up."_

 _Rose suddenly snapped her mouth closed. She hadn't even realized it was hanging open until that moment._

 _Albus continued, his voice dark, making Rose's stomach turn. Or maybe it was the firewhisky._

 _"She tore me apart. I don't understand it. How can something that happened so long ago still hurt this much? I can still feel it." Al clutched at his chest. "I can literally feel it every day. How can that be?" His voice dropped to such a ragged whisper that Rose could barely hear him. "How can that_ be _?"_

Rose hated recalling that night. It was painful seeing Albus torn apart in such a devastating way. Thinking about it just made her realize that his depressed was just an exposed version of what he went through every day, and that made Rose's heart heavy with despair for her cousin. No one deserved to carry around such weariness because of unrequited love.

"Have you thought anymore about what I said?" Rose asked.

Albus shook his head. "I don't think it's possible at this point, Rose."

"I don't think there's anything left to do at this point, Al."

"I can't tell her how I feel. Every time we talk she only treats me like a friend. Nothing more."

"Oh how would you know what more than a friend would act like?" Rose asked derisively, leaning back and folding her arms. "When was the last time you so much as uttered the word 'date'?"

Albus stood up angrily. "Thanks so much for your support!"

"Al, I didn't mean that like it sounded…"

"You think I'm blind, Rose?" Albus asked, his voice getting louder. "You don't think I noticed you were crying yesterday before you came to my flat? Fucking hell- I have never see you cry. But did I make a sodding joke about it?"

Rose stood up, wide eyes, and hurriedly raised her wand to ensure that there was a silencing charm placed around her office. Merlin- the Daily Prophet reporters were in and out of the ministry every day. She could easily end upon the front page of the newspaper with a headline dedicated to her love life if Albus didn't keep his mouth shut.

"NO!" Rose yelled back at her cousin after she was absolutely sure the walls were secure. "No, you didn't make a joke about it! And I'm really grateful for that, OKAY!"

"You can stop shouting now," Albus muttered.

"NO I can't! Because now I'm all worked up!" Rose threw her wand down on her desk and slumped back in her chair. "And you know what, Al. I really like Hannah, but if you're going to continue down this crazy path, then I hate her. Because this weird, obsessive, over involved bloke that you become isn't healthy. And I hate her for doing that to you."

"No you don't," Albus muttered.

"No," admitted Rose. "No, I don't. But I swear, if in 6 months you're still going to the Leaky Cauldron I will hate her." Rose leaned over to take her cousin's hand. "Please, Al. This isn't healthy."

"We were so good, Rose. Don't you remember? A love that good is worth fighting for." Albus squeezed his cousin's hand.

Rose heaved a heavy sigh before letting go of Al's hand.

"I should be getting back to work. Your sister wants to stop by later. Is it alright that I'm inviting a guest round your flat?" Rose asked.

Al scoffed. "Lily's hardly a guest. Thief would be more accurate. She steals my food and occasionally one of Scorpius's medical books…speaking of…"

Rose looked suspicious. "What?"

"Oh nothing. I heard you and my flat mate got a little cozy this morning,"

"Cozy," Rose repeated the word and its implications. "You say that like we shagged."

"Why did your mind immediately go there!"

"Oh get out of my office! Don't you have work to do?"

Albus dutifully retreated out of his cousin's office, and Rose charmed the door to slam behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Don't worry, I brought wine."

Lily entered the flat carrying two bottles of elf wine, and a stack of books.

"Are we...reading?" Rose asked, examining the pile of tomes Lily hefted onto Albus's counter top.

"I'm not going to pretend I wouldn't love that. But no- these are for Scorpius. I borrowed them, and so now that I'm a Healer," Lily paused here to bow to an imaginary crowd of fans, "I decided I've squeezed every inch of knowledge from their pages. He can have them back."

"Albus described your borrowing more along the lines of petty crime."

"Albus is a twat."

Rose laughed. "Okay, I'll get the wine. Go sit down, rest your arms, and I'll be right out."

"So," Lily began as Rose walked in balancing 4 glasses of wine. "...oh."

"Oh?" Rose repeated. Lily was staring at the glasses in her hands, bemused.

"4 glasses? Are we expecting company?"

Rose looked away, as she could feel a bit of heat begin to crawl up her neck. And really the last thing she needed was Lily to notice her flushing. Instead she managed to give a nonchalant shrug. "Well I guess I figured the boys might show up. And if not, then these will be ready when we finish ours!" Rose clanked her glass against Lily's enthusiastically.

If Rose thought Lily would be thrown off by her lighthearted attempt at binge drinking, she was mistaken.

Lily took a long swig of her wine before speaking. Rose could tell she was contemplating a way to ask the question that sat on the tip of her tongue. Harry and Ginny Potter were loving parents, sure, but they were nothing if not skillful at managing people. James was the most forthright about his gift for gab- even before Hogwarts, just as a little boy, he had been the most smooth-talking rule breaker. And Lily was very much like her mum- beauty had always drawn people to Lily, but it was her irreverent personality that got them to do her bidding. And then there was Al- Al who was always the most unlikely of the three siblings. And yet, Rose had seen him do incredible things. An Auror who had made all his internal contact without assistance from Harry Potter. Albus Severus- who Rose had watched at countless Ministry events laughing and chatting with officials in his program, not because he liked them, but because he needed something from them.

Rose wondered if her Aunt and Uncle ever realized that they had raised all their children to be wielders of information. Lily swirled her wine once more. "Scorpius told me you spent the night here last minute. True?"

Rose gave a huff. "You don't waste any time, do you Lil?"

Lily held out her hands as if asking Rose to spell it out for her. Her eyes were wide with anticipation.

"Daffin and I broke up."

Lily smacked her hands to her face, trying to cover the smile Rose knew was sitting there. Lily composed herself and lowered her hands.

"That's too bad," she said, in a poor attempt at acting.

"I know Roxy told you." Rose swatted her cousin. "She's a dreadful gossip. And you're a horrible liar."

"Where are you going to live?"

Rose shrugged. "Right now the only thing I should be focusing on is when I'm going to get my things from Daffin's flat."

"Well you can just move your things straight in to mine," Lily said, and when Rose began to protest, she merely held up her hands. "No, I won't hear any excuses. Frankly I can't believe you didn't come directly to Roxy and I last night."

"I knew Al wouldn't make a big fuss. Plus, you and Roxy hated Daffin, and I didn't want to spend the night discussing how horrible he was."

"That would've been so bad?"

"Yes. You were all such pricks about Daffin. I know now he's a git, but that won't make me feel any better when you all have those smarmy know-it-all grins plastered on your faces."

Lily frowned. "I'm sorry," she said, and Rose could tell she was making an honest attempt.

"I know you didn't like him, but I was quite taken. When you say you found him dull, it makes me feel embarrassed. As if I was too dim to see it for myself. Merlin, Lily we were together for a year. That's a long time to be committed to someone. You have to realize that even though it ended poorly, there were moments that we really were a proper couple that cared about one another. And to know you hated him the entire time...it makes me feel like a complete fool."

"You're not a fool! It's hard to be a newcomer in our family- you know that. Mum said Grandmum Molly hated Aunt Fleur, and that Teddy was already speaking in full sentences before Aunt Audrey got her first Weasley Jumper. We're a hard bunch to impress. But hey! You're single. I'm single. Let's focus on how great that is instead." Lily leaned over to hug Rose. "And I won't bring him up again."

"Cheers," she said flatly. I hardly seemed like something to celebrate at all.

"But you're still moving in with me." Lily took a hearty sip of wine before continuing. "Anyway, I have interesting news, so tuck in."

Rose tisked. "This isn't more gossip from Roxy, is it?"

"Nope, this is gossip straight from me!" Lily said cheerily. "Now shut up and let me tell my story."

Rose smiled. She so rarely spent time with her female cousins anymore, she forgot how much fun it was to talk to a woman. She tried to shake off the feeling of guilt that started to wash over her. It was clear the reason she hadn't seen her cousins as much anymore was because of Daffin. Did they notice her absence as much as she did? Perhaps she should apologize? Was something like that even worth apologizing over if they didn't notice it on their end? Lily said she worked long hours at the Hospital, so it was unlikely she really spent too much time wondering about Rose's whereabouts. No, perhaps Rose was overthinking things. An apology would really just end up making her re-live the last year of her life, and that was certainly not something Lily would want her to do.

Lily continued. "I was at my mum's today. She cooked a casserole for me, and I went to pick it up."

"You're really still that bad at cooking spells?" Rose said in awe.

"Not the point, Rose."

"Then don't add it into your story, Lily," countered Rose.

"Anyway...my mum said that Professor Longbottom had just stopped by earlier for a friendly visit," Lily said, referencing Neville Longbottom with his Hogwarts title. Rose doubted they would ever agree to his wishes to be called Neville.

"So?"

"Well," continued Lily, "Apparently Professor Longbottom had news to share. Hannah is back in the country. I asked my mum if she knew details about it because Professor Longbottom and Dad spent a good amount of time chatting, but she only gave me vague answers along the lines of, 'Oh Lil, you know how Hannah's job takes her out of the country,' and what not. Al and I couldn't get much detail out of them."

Rose started. "Al?"

"Otherwise known as Albus, yes."

Rose ignored her cousin's snark. "Al was with you?"

"Yes," Lily said slowly, confusion written all over her face. "And so were Teddy and Victoire and Uncle George."

Rose snorted in disbelief. Of course bloody Albus Potter was there when he heard Hannah was back in town. So he hadn't been around The Leaky Cauldron because it reminded him of Hannah. He had been there because he had been hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Or maybe he wanted to pretend to casually run in to her. Pathetic.

"She's back in England," confirmed Lily, who seemed either not to notice the way Rose was rolling her eyes as she put the pieces together in her mind over Albus's Leaky Cauldron trip. "Do you know details about what kind of travel her work involves?"

Rose did somewhat. She knew Hannah was a sort of international ambassador, and had been traveling for years now. She had acquired the position right out of Hogwarts, and had seen pictures of the various places she had lived hung on the walls of the Longbottom's home. To be honest, it seemed like a pretty crap deal to Rose. Always living out of your suitcase and never having a proper relationship wasn't the ideal situation for Rose. But Professor and Mrs. Longbottom always spoke as if their daughter was the happiest person on earth.

"As far as I know, she goes wherever there's an international event that requires British representation. But I'm not too sure. Foreign affairs are a completely separate department in the ministry. My mum might know more." Rose shrugged, indifferently. She was beginning to become disinterested in the entire subject, for she had spoken far more about Hannah Longbottom today than what was acceptable.

It wasn't that Rose disliked Hannah. On the contrary, it was actually quite impossible to dislike any of the Longbottoms- they were nice and honest and lovely people. She had known Hannah's parents her entire life, and they spoke about Neville Longbottom with such high esteem that when they entered Hogwarts, it just seemed a natural progression that Hannah Longbottom would fit well into the Weasley-Potter circle. No- it wasn't that Rose disliked Hannah. She just disliked the way the young witch had treated her cousin. None of the other family members had found their breakup particularly suspicious as far as Rose knew, but it had always irked her the way things happened. The speed at which everything had fallen apart had never stopped seeming curious.

Before Rose had a chance to mentally analyze Albus's lie from today any further, the floo sprang into life and Scorpius appeared out of the green flames.

"Hi," he said, looking surprised.

"Rose and I are just catching up," Lily spoke up first. She smiled and raised her glass. "Will you join us?"

Scorpius laughed and shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm knackered. After getting done at Mungo's, I stopped to chat with Albus, and got delayed an hour. Your parents really know how to chat."

"Mine?" Lily asked.

"Both of yours," Scorpius said, gesturing between Lily and Rose. "They were with Professor Longbottom as well. You remember Hannah Longbottom?" he asked.

Rose was determined not to roll her eyes. Hannah Longbottom- this girl was following her everywhere today.

Lilt laughed "We all went to the same school, Scorpius. Merlin, you must have had a long shift." She looked at Rose. "And you think Roxy is a gossip. Apparently our parents are as bad as bloody Witch Weekly."

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked.

"Nothing," Rose answered, before Lily could continued. "So you were with Al earlier?"

Scorpius nodded. "He didn't seem too eager to come back to the flat. Said he was going to stay and chat a bit more. But I couldn't stay any longer. After today's shift the only thing I need is a bath and a hot stew."

Rose nodded, wondering if a certain pretty blonde ex-girlfriend was also at this family gathering, but not wanting to ask Scorpius in front of Lily. As far as Rose knew, Lily wasn't aware of Albus's long term infatuation, and Rose had no plans to spill her cousin's secret.

"I'll see you at work, Lily? And I'll probably see you soon too, Rose," Scorpius said with a smile before turning to head for his room.

When Scorpius's door shut, Lily turned to her cousin with a coy grin. "Not a bad sleeping arrangement you have here. No wonder you didn't knock on my door."

Rose ignored Lily's tone, but suddenly all thought of Al and his unrequited love drama flew out of her mind. "Lily, I just broke up with my boyfriend. My stuff is literally still sitting in his flat. Don't you think it's a little early for your crazy matchmaking schemes?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it would be too early to set you up on a blind date from ground zero. But you two have something." Lily punctuated the word something with several exaggerated eyebrow movements.

"Something," Rose repeated.

"Mhmm," cooed Lily with a grin.

"A mutual dislike of Care of Magical Creatures?"

Lily groaned. "Don't remind me. You two were always complaining about students being allowed to bring an animal with them."

"There were far too many cats and toads in that common room, Lily. How is a witch supposed to study?"

"Merlin, strike me dead. I can't believe I'm listening to this argument from you again."

"The owls get the Owlery. And we let the cats run amok like savages!"

Lily swallowed the contents of her glass. "Someone is just bitter I think..."

"Oh please."

"I think it's time you just acknowledged that the cats just didn't like you."

"Hannah's cat was a brat. She even admitted it herself," Rose said in defense.

"They didn't like you. You made them tense."

"Well if they didn't like me then they didn't like Scorpius either. He agreed with me, " Rose conceded.

Lily failed to keep the smug grin off her face at Rose's words. "Yes, he did agree with you. Big surprise."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Drink your wine, Rose."

* * *

\- 1 week later-

Rose was bleeding.

She blamed the shoes.

"How do people even wear these miserable things?" she muttered grumpily as she yanked the shiny black heel off her foot and promptly threw it against the wall of her cousin's flat. On her way home from the ministry that night, Rose had very ungracefully fallen into the floo grate and snagged the tights she had worn under her skirt. Only once she had crawled from the floo grate did Rose realize she had actually managed to acquire quite a long gash on her leg as well.

Rose yanked off her other shoe in the same hasty manner, and threw that shoe across room. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to manage the correct healing charm without knowing bad the damage was, Rose wasted no time at all in hiking up her skirt and shuffling her nylons to her ankles.

"Bugger," Rose muttered as she examined the blood, that was now also on her hands.

"I thought I heard..."

Rose felt the flush of embarrassment to her face before she could even fully comprehend Scorpius standing in front of her, looking equally if not more so embarrassed.

"Ohh..." was the only thing Rose could manage to mumble as her current state set in. She was on the floor, covered in blood, with her skirt hiked up to her waist, and her stockings ripped and sitting at her ankles. Great, Rose, she thought to herself. This is just great.

"The blood," Scorpius said, his eyes sharpening. And to Rose's horror she realized he was walking towards her. Not away from her, but towards her. To help! Damn his Healer instincts!

Rose tried, without success to cover different parts of her body with her hands, with minimal luck. "Scorpius," she said pathetically as he knelt next to her with a concerned face. "It's just a scrap. Honestly, you don't need to see this. I was just going to charm it myself."

"Rose, you're a brilliant witch. But can we just agree that this is my area of expertise?" Scorpius said, not taking his eyes off the areas of Rose's legs covered with blood. He summoned some objects that Rose recognized from around the house- a towel, a bowl, different household potions. And some others that she had not seem before that must have come from his Healer's kit.

"You're right," Scorpius said as he dabbed a few unknown potions on Rose's leg. "It's not a bad injury." Rose watched as Scorpius cut up a long bandage and soaked it in a bowl of ointment. "But you know I wouldn't be able to let you sit on the floor and bleed."

"You're not on the clock."

Scorpius laughed. "Bend your leg for me."

Rose did, and Scorpius wrapped the ointment-soaked bandage around her leg. Scorpius's fingers brushed around Rose's knee and moved around the back of her thigh. She could feel the effect immediately wash over her. Her eyes opened and closed several times trying to adjust to overwhelming calming sensation the ointment offered. "You're drugging me, I think," Rose said with a dopey expression. Scorpius smiled and shook his head. How had they even landed in this position in the first place? She was definitely on the floor, but when had that happened? How long had she been there? A minute? An hour? She laid her head back and closed her eyed as a pair of quick hands continued to wrap...something around her.

"Alright, let's get these off and you'll be able to stand," Scorpius said. He pointed at her nylons bunched around her ankles. Rose made a few pathetic attempts at kicking, which was more of a halfhearted shake. After each kick, she grew more and more comfortable. Surely the nylons must be off by now. But in any event, this had to prove she was a dynamic kicker. To be so skilled and yet feel no physical excretion what so ever...

What a great Healer he was.

What a great feeling this was.

Rose opened her eyes. She felt stiff, and her knee ached.

And why hadn't seen removed her bra before sleeping? Rose picked up her blanket. No- strike that. Why was she sleeping in her full work outfit?

"You're awake!"

Scorpius was in the room. She stared at him. And then- her eyes caught sight of a pair of stocking sitting rumpled a discarded in the corner, and Rose's face instantly heated. Under the blanket, her fingers felt for the bandage she already knew would be on her knee. Oh, Merlin.

"That really happened, didn't it?" Rose asked quietly, wishing she could hide under her blanket.

"Oh, don't be so embarrassed. Who doesn't fall out of a floo grate? Al does it at least twice a week. At least."

Perhaps Scorpius was so good at dodging the awkwardness because he was used to dealing with much more trying situations every day at Mungo's. Hell, Rose realized, he was probably used to seeing half naked women every day at the hospital. Why should she be embarrassed of showing him a little thigh? She should be proud of her thighs! They were great thighs.

"Anyway," continued Scorpius before Rose could say more, "I brought you a sandwich. I figured you'd be hungry. Most patients are when they first wake up." He held out a plate to her, which did indeed have a nice-looking sandwich.

"Thanks," She said. "You didn't have to do that."

She took a bite and gave a loud groan of satisfaction.

"Ok, stop. Even I know it's not that tasty."

Rose swallowed her bite, and smiled. "You're right. I just figured a proper way to thank you would be to look really satisfied."

"You're a crap actress."

Rose bit back her smile.

"So do you often work strange hours at Mungo's?" Rose asked. Sever since she had seen him up early, she had been wanting to ask him about his schedule. The only other Healer she knew was Lily, but she had been a trainee when she had been working strange hours.

"It's not a regular thing, no," Scorpius said as he ran his fingers through his hair. "But I like it. It keeps me occupied."

"You don't have anything else to keep you occupied?" As soon as she asked the question, she immediately wished she hadn't. Rose hated when other people pried into her personal life, and now she had mistakenly asked if he was working long hours because he had nothing better to do. Stupid.

"What do you mean? I'm busy right now making sure you get nourishment."

Rose smiled, silently relieved. She gestured to her sandwich, looking to change the subject quickly. "Honestly, this is very good, but it doesn't quite take my mind of some of the things that have been weighing on me lately."

"Busy workday?"

"Mmm," Rose mumbled. "Sure, that's always a constant. And then there's this flat situation. Lily wants me to move in with her, but all of my things are still...somewhere else. And then there's Albus."

"Something serious happen with Al?" Scorpius asked.

Rose shook her head no. She had managed to avoid him at the flat since finding out Hannah was back in town. Although, she realized, perhaps that had to do with the fact that he could be avoiding her just as much as she had been avoiding him. And similar to Lily, Rose didn't know how much Scorpius actually knew about Hannah. She figured maybe he knew something, being one of Al's best mates. However, Rose didn't want to assume anything, and she especially didn't want to reveal Al's secret if there was the slightest chance Scorpius didn't know about his unrequited love.

"He's just being a git," Rose said, purposefully vague. She took a large bite of her sandwich to avoid saying more.

Rose nibbled on her sandwich silently. She felt like she should say something, but didn't know how to restart the conversation without it sounding forced. Before either of them had a chance to break the lull, however, a pop of apparation announced the appearance of Lily Potter. She stood in the middle of the flat, holding a big empty box.

Lily looked at Rose who was cuddle in a blanket in her work clothes, then the stockings in the corner, to Scorpius who sat on the other side of the room.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius shot back before Rose could ask the same. "Don't you knock? I could've been naked."

"In the middle of your flat? Where Rose is currently living? If you had been naked, I would've had some serious questions. But anyway!" Lily held up the box she was carrying with a proud smile. "I've come to get Rose so we can gather her things from her flat and take them to our place."

"Our place?" Scorpius asked, looking over at Rose. "You made a decision about living with Lily?"

"Well it was either that or kick you out," Rose joked halfheartedly.

"As if you could."

"Alright, alright," Lily interjected, getting back to business. "Scorpius, we can talk later about you, Al, and your modern courtship."

"You want to fetch my things now?"

"Better now than later. You've already been living here a week. And now with my new Healer position, who knows when I'll have time to help you get settled. Plus, know that I know Scorpius likes to live in the nude, it's even more important we get you out immediately."

Lily ducked as Scorpius hurled a cushion in her direction.

"It's just...I'm not exactly in the best shape." Rose uncovered her legs to show off her new bandage. "I fell through the grate."

Lily winced. "You managed to do all of this on your way home from the Ministry?"

"Gee, thanks."

Lily sighed. "I understand if you don't want Daffin to see you all scraped up, but Rose, all of your things are at that flat." Lily put the box on the floor, and stood in front of Rose with her hands on her hips. Rose knew this was her new no-bullshit powerful Healer pose. "He has your life under his control. How many more weeks are you going to let that git control your life? I won't stand for it. So we're going to march right in there and get your bleeding possessions back because damnit, they're yours to have!"

Rose took a deep breath. "Ok, fine. Let's go."

Lily pointed at Scorpius. "You too."

"Me? I'm not a part of this heist or whatever it is you've planned."

"The more people we have, the quicker we'll be able to get Rose her things back." Lily shot an accusatory look at her coworker that Rose knew was designed to make home feel guilty. "Don't you want Rose to move on with her life, Scorpius?"

"I feel like this is a trap," Scorpius said.

"With Lily? Always," agreed Rose.

* * *

Scorpius groaned. He collapsed onto the flat's sofa after coming home from St. Mungo's utterly exhausted. As he laid on the plush cushions, the tension in his lower back seemed to intensify.

"Ughh."

Now more than ever, he regretted helping Rose move her things into Lily's flat. The lifting had caused his back serious strain, and the amount of time it took to pack and move her things meant Scorpius got little sleep before his early shift that morning.

He groaned again as he ran a hand through his hair.

"All right?" Albus asked, walking out of his bedroom.

Scorpius tilted his head towards his mate in surprise. "I didn't think you'd be home."

"I was on late shift last night, so my uncle let me off the hook for today."

Scorpius nodded. "Rose moved in with Lily," he said, stating the obvious. Lily's things had disappeared from the flat, and the blankets and sheets she had used to camp out on the sofa had already been laundered and returned to the linen closet.

Al shrugged. "I figured."

"She said you two talked yesterday. Did you row?"

"Slightly. It's not a big deal. It just got a bit tense."

"Because she was staying here?"

"No."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows at Al, knowing he was only ever short when there was more to be said. Al blew out a ragged breath as he dropped his head in shame. "It was about Hannah."

Scorpius fought the urge to roll his eyes. He should have known. Albus's problems these days always seemed to come back to Hannah Longbottom in one way or another. Although he was annoyed at the mention of her name, there was a selfish part of him that was also somewhat relieved to hear he wasn't the only one who knew about Al's romantic dilemma. Maybe he and Rose could team up and smack some sense into Albus Potter. Scorpius made an effort to keep his tone neutral. "What happened now?"

"Nothing really."

"Shocking," Scorpius muttered as he rubbed his sore back. Al was constantly refusing to ask Hannah out of a date despite the fact that he was arse over elbows in love with her. And now the woman was literally back in the country, and Albus had gone out of his way to spend time with Professor and Mrs. Longbottom at a family event even though Albus hated family get-togethers. And after all that- after all the ways he puts himself in a position to speak with Hannah, after all the hours he spends thinking about her and working himself up about her- nothing?

"What?" Albus asked.

"You should let me set you up with a Healer from Mungo's," Scorpius said, not wanting to start a fight with Al. "I know lots of fit witches you could take to dinner. Get your mind off of...other things," said Scorpius evasively, trying his best to get Al interested in something other than Hannah Longbottom.

"I don't think so, mate," Al said. "Lily works at the hospital too. I don't want to date someone who spends her days gossiping with my sister."

Scorpius knew Albus was just using Lily as an easy excuse. He always seemed to find a plausible excuse whenever anyone of their mates suggested setting Al up on a date. Just the other week James had even offered to introduce Al to a Foreign Quidditch League Attendant he'd met in Athens. James had described the woman's physical attributes in such vivid detail, Scorpius remembered feeling his checks burn.

 _"Have you already slept with this woman?" Al asked._

 _James dropped his hands, which he had been using to estimate the size of the woman's posterior._

 _"No," he replied with an apathetic shrug. Scorpius laughed at the absurdity of James's casual manner._

 _"You can speak about witches like that and not feel disgusted with yourself?" Al asked, cringing._

 _"Look," he said, leaning towards Al and Scorpius with a cocky smirk. "I love women, and they seem to appreciate me in return. So I don't think I've got anything to apologize for."_

 _Scorpius interjected to save Al any further embarrassment from his older brother. "If you're so good with women, James, how come you never seem to have a serious girlfriend of your own?"_

 _"Here, here!" Albus cheered._

 _"I'm pulling plenty of witches myself, thanks." James raised his eyebrows suggestively. "In fact, I've got a pretty nice arrangement going on right now."_

 _Albus shook his head and covered his ears. "No. No. No thanks. I don't need to hear about your sloppy one night stands."_

 _Scorpius turned back to Al. "I wouldn't trust James's instincts on this one, mate. Let me set you up."_

 _Albus shook his head. "I have such a full schedule at the ministry right now, I probably wouldn't even have time to keep a date."_

And that was how their conversations continued: Scorpius would suggest setting Al on a date, and Al would have a convenient reason for backing out.

"So anyway," sigh Albus, and Scorpius could tell he was ready to change the subject off women. "You helped Rose pack?"

"Right. Yesterday I went with her and Lily to pack clothes and things. Bloody exhausting."

Al sat down and listened while Scorpius recapped the moving process, taking extra time to make sure Al knew he blamed his cousin and sister for his current back pain.

Al laughed.

"Maybe you can schedule a Healer's appointment with Lily. Make her work on you free of charge."

"I should. Bloody bossy."

* * *

Lily smiled a tired smile as she stepped into her flat after work that night. She looked around the room, happy to see Rose had apparently wasted no time in making herself at home. Pictures were already hung on the walls, shoes littered the mat by the fireplace, and various new pieces of furniture were placed haphazardly throughout the room.

Lily walked towards an antique bookshelf of Rose's that she had always admired. She smiled as she ran her hands over the uneven texture of the wood, glad that the piece was now in her flat. Daffin probably never appreciated how beautiful it was. Hell, Daffin probably didn't even need a bookshelf because she doubted he could read.

Lily retracted her hand as she mentally bit her tongue. If Rose was going to continue wanting to live with her, she should probably cut back on the cheeky Daffin comments.

Lily walked towards Rose's room. The hour was late, but she could see the light shining through her doorframe, so she knocked softly. She knew Roxy wouldn't be back until much later, so there would be no chance of disturbing her.

Rose called out a muffled response, and Lily pushed the door open. Rose was lying in bed, with a notepad propped on her legs.

"You're working?"

"Just writing to let a few friends know about my new address," Rose answered. "I try not to take work home with me if I can help it."

Lily nodded. "You should show me how to do that." She twirled her hair around her finger as she watched Rose neatly stack her papers and put them securely in her bedside table drawer.

"I have a confession," Lily said suddenly.

Rose looked up apprehensively.

"I want to change my hair color."

"Ok," Rose said slowly. "Are we talking Victoire blonde or more like Teddy blue, because I don't know if I'd trust a Healer with neon locks..."

"Dark. Similar to Al's."

"You're joking."

"Why not?" Lily asked. She brushed her fringe off her forehead. "It's unfair that Al was the only one who inherited my dad's dark hair, while the rest of us got stuck with red."

"What's wrong with red?" Rose asked defensively, her hands springing up to take hold of her own locks.

"Nothing's wrong with red. I'd just fancy a change." Lily thought of Mrs. Clark's words. "If I don't like it, I'll just change it easy as that." She snapped her fingers to demonstrate the ease of the action.

"Well it'll certainly be a change," Rose consented. In an unconscious mimicking action, Rose began to twirl a strand of her own red curl.

Lily had already made up her mind before coming to talk to Rose. And she already knew there was nothing her older cousin could say would change Lily's decision now. It was this bold and somewhat erratic instinct that had defined the most important choice of Lily's life so far: Healing.

Her decision to become a Healer was similar in that it was quite spontaneous. In 5th year, Lily scanned the career brochures and decided she wanted to pursue a career that no one in the family had previously undertaken. She didn't want to be an Auror or a curse breaker, and she didn't seek to work at the ministry, and while she liked shopping at WWW, she didn't fancy herself a shop owner. She'd never been exceptionally talented at Quidditch, so professional sports were certainly out of the question. She glanced at the international career packets, throwing away the one featuring a dragon: Charlie already had the Magical Creatures field more than covered. When she picked up the brochure emblazoned with a crossed wand and bone, she felt empowered. This was it. Healer Potter. She was clever enough to meet all the necessary requirements, and her professors had never once suggested she look at another path. That was good enough for her.

Lily knew she was sometimes impetuous, but it had seemed to work well for her this long.

"I've already researched the spell I want to use. Every time I use it, my color should grow progressively darker until..."

"Until you look like Uncle Harry."

Lily rolled her eyes and took out her wand.

"You're going to do it now?" Rose exclaimed.

Lily shrugged. "It's a simple spell, Rose. Don't be such a Percy," she joked, using the old teasing phrase her Uncle Ron liked to throw around when he knew Aunt Hermione wasn't in hearing range.

"Ilumino Minima," she said with a brief flick towards her head. Lily turned herself around on Rose's bed so that she could see herself in Rose's vanity mirror. Her hair certainly looked darker, but Lily preformed the spell a second and third time to get rid of any traces of red.

"That won't cause any damage?" Rose asked skeptically once Lily repeated the incantation for the third time.

Lily shook her head. "The book said damage is rare unless you're lightening. A red head going blonde is apparently much more difficult than this."

"Good thing you don't envy the Veela look then I suppose," Rose commented idly.

"Scorpius would just accuse me of stealing his look if I showed up to work with a bleached head."

Rose had been drifting off listening to Lily talk about hair color, but the mention of Scorpius snapped the witch into attention. Lily put down her wand and began to comb through her dark hair with her fingers. "Yes. I think I like this."

"Hey Lily, I have an odd question," Rose said slowly.

Lily tore her eyes away from her reflection to stare at her cousin. She was twirling her own curly red hair nervously, making Lily raise her eyes in amusement. Rose never got nervous about anything. She turned her whole body to face Rose. If something was really making her this nervous, it probably required her whole attention.

"Did you and Scorpius ever...you know...become friendly?"

Lily threw her head back and burst into peals of laughter at Rose's uncomfortable wording. "Are you asking me if we shagged?"

"Lily! Not specifically that. I just wondered if anything happened."

"Why?"

"You both spend these long hours at St. Mungo's, and he's a very fit bloke. I mean... it must seem like an attractive option when you're lonely, and stressed, and...and..."

"Desperate?" Lily offered, as she stared once more at her new hair in the mirror.

"That's not what I meant," Rose snapped, but her face flushed. "You've honestly never considered it?"

"Where is this coming from, Rose?" Lily asked.

Rose didn't answer. Of course Lily knew how attractive Scorpius was, but she had never even thought to make a move. Lily loved her job, and she certainly loved it more than the idea of becoming involved in a messy work affair. Lily had only been a few years younger than Rose at Hogwarts, but she still knew when Rose and Scorpius had wound up in each other's arms. It was Hogwart's worst kept secret. And even after graduation, even when Rose was paired off, Scorpius had always felt like he belonged to her cousin. Lily knew Rose would deny their relationship and say they only had flings, but by the way they had looked at each other at Hogwarts, something told Lily that relationship was more than a few glances across a co. Plus, the idea of Scorpius was just—

Lily figured her thoughts must have been showing on her face because Rose suddenly laughed.

"What?"

"Is the idea of shagging Scorpius really that repulsive to you?" Rose asked before doing an impression of her cousin's face. She scrunched up her nose and pursed her lips. Lily laughed loudly at the absurd expression.

"Cow," Lily said playfully as she caught her breath. Then said, more seriously, "I've honestly never even considered him an option. We're just friends."

Rose seemed to accept this answer as she snuggled into her pillow.

"You trying to get Scorpius in your bed?" Lily asked her cousin saucily.

Rose laughed.

"I'm tired," she said evasively, shooing Lily off her bed. "Get out."

Lily gave a dramatic huff as Rose shoved her out of the room.

"You'll want to be nice to me, Rose!" Lily shouted in a sing song voice as she crossed the corridor to her own room. She raised her voice to make sure Rose could hear. "I'm the one with the best connections to aid in your shag."

Lily smiled as she heard a heavy bang signaling Rose had charmed her door to slam.

"If you wanted me to set you up with a Healer bloke, you should've said something sooner," Lily said loudly into her cousin's bedroom door. "You don't have to settle for Scorp. There are loads of others I'd rather see doing the walk of shame out of this flat..."

"Goodnight!"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Editing this on a Friday night has been seriously so relaxing and wonderful after the most stressful work week I've had. I think I'll add a disclaimer here that non of this belongs to me because obviously it's JKRowling who is the Queen.

"New patient in Room 415," the woman called as she sidled up to Lily with a clipboard in one hand and what looked like a several dozen letters under her arm. Lily took the clipboard that was offered to her, even as she continued to watch her coworker, Geraldine Yen, with trepidation. Excess paperwork was something of a never-ending problem at Mungo's, and something the Healers all dreaded, but the excessive letters stirred something of a warning sign in Lily. No good news came from increased mail. "Also, you must make sure you sign DeWalt's retirement card before the end of today, and here." Gerry reached under arm and handed Lily a stack of letters that had been bound with a thick rubber band.

"What in the name of Merlin?'

"Don't take it up with me!" Gerry protested before Lily could barely begin to list her grievances at being handed a pile of mail thicker than her wrist. "I've been instructed that all Harry Potter's mail is priority and should go straight to you. The higher ups don't want to take any chances that something important won't get to the someone so important."

"Excuse me? Gerry, you are talking absolute rubbish." But even as she said it, Lily examined the top piece of mail to see it had her father's name scrawled across the center. "No."

"Oh yes. It's a brand-new effort by the government to make inter-government correspondence more efficient. They hired a team under the new correspondence secretary to head the mail sync-up between the Ministry and Mungo's. They're hoping to get the Prophet and Hogwarts involved too. And International miniseries as well. This was just a first test. Well, I'm sure you can imagine the headache when we all started to notice no one was receiving the correct bits of mail. And they McGreggor volunteered _me_ to try to figure out a solution to this shite."

"Minister Weasley okayed something like this?" Lily asked, more to herself. How could her aunt have approved such a bullshit program to regulate government mail? And what tosser who headed the switchover was so inept that he didn't even send out a memo to let the workers know there would be a change in their mail system? Lily huffed an exasperated sigh.

"I don't bloody care who allowed it, but I'd like the chance to ring their neck. Just make sure that gets to your dad, alright? I have to spend the rest of my day sorting out mail like some common owl instead of caring for my patients. Because apparently that's a valuable use of my time."

Lily looked back down at the mail, examining it more closely this time. "A letter from Madam Malkins? This is hardly high priority mail, Gerry."

Gerry shot Lily a dry look, clearly unamused. "We're all making sacrifices."

"Well," Lily huffed. " Don't stop there. I'm surprised you haven't come to me loaded to the hilt with Potter and Weasley mail for me to pass out. Why just stop with my dad, hmm? Both of my brothers work for the ministry. And my _Aunt_ Hermione certainly wouldn't mind getting a visit from me either," Lily continued, throwing extra emphasis on aunt even though she normally preferred to use Hermione Weasley's formal title when she wasn't around family. "Why should the ministry bother coming up with a more efficient solution when I can just floo from relative to relative and hand out their _junk mail._ Oh no, it makes much more sense to do it this way. And maybe if I get lucky my cousin Rose will deliver me my mail someday soon. But for now, I guess we mustn't keep dear Madam Malkin in suspense! Certainly, not!"

Gerry didn't give an inch. Her eyes, which had become unfocused during Lily's rant, suddenly sparked back to attention. "So I can give you your cousin's mail too? Because that would almost certainly save time on my end."

Lily turned away. "I have a new patient." Happy to distance herself from anymore conversation about ministry mail, Lily headed towards Room 415. She made a mental note to stop by her parents' house after work. And while she was at it, maybe she'd also stop by Ron and Hermione's place and have a chat with her dear Aunt. Lily shook back her hair. Even after the harsh conversation, Lily still felt as if she could take on one hundred Gerry's and best them all. Probably the new hair, she thought as tossed her new, darker ponytail over her shoulder.

"Lily!"

She hadn't bothered to read her patient's chart, she realized. Had her head not been in an over-indulged fantasy of sparring with an army of paper-pushing ministry workers, and HAD she of taken the time to glanced at the patient file for Room 415, and HAD she not have been so busy trying to catch a reflection of her new darker shade in one of the many reflective surfaces provided by the generic St. Mungo's hallway art, Lily might have noticed. The room she was walking in to was occupied by someone she actually knew. Specifically, Hannah Longbottom II.

"Hannah!" Lily said in surprise. Hannah wasted no time in rising from the chair in which she had been seated to greet Lily in a friendly hug. Lily's conversation with Rose rushed to the forefront of her mind. "You're here! In Mungo's!"

Lily pulled away from her smiley friend. Before she could ask what had landed her in the hospital, Hannah squealed and ran her hand through her hair. "Merlin! You're hardly recognizable!"

Lily laughed. She'd already been told that multiple times that very morning, but it was different coming from someone she considered a friend. "You like it?"

"I love it," Hannah said earnestly.

Lily grinned. She always forgot how sweet Hannah was. They were the same age, and had been good friends in Hogwarts, especially when she had dated her brother. When the couple had split, however, Hannah had seemed to disappear. Professor and Mrs. Longbottom claimed she was just immersed in work. And as far as Lily knew she was an international consultant between Foreign and English ministries, but when Hannah was in the UK, she also helped her mum run The Leaky Cauldron.

"But wait, my hair is not important. You're here for…" She looked down at her clipboard. "Burns?"

Hannah smiled sheepishly as she held out her arms, which looked very red and scabbed indeed. Lily set down her chart, and gestured for Hannah to take a seat so she could examine the damage.

"Are these magical wounds?" Lily asked.

Hannah nodded. "I was trying a new cooking spell at The Leaky, just helping out my mum, you know? Well one thing led to another and suddenly the cauldron is on fire." She smiled. "So here I am."

"But you must have just arrived in town," Lily said as she turned Hannah's arms over. "And they have you working in the kitchens already?"

Hannah laughed. "I've actually been home for a while now. And I like working at the pub."

"Oh I know," said Lily. "We could never get you to leave that place over the holidays. The amount of times alone…." Lily trailed off. She had been about to say 'the amount of times alone I had to go there and drag Al back home', but she caught herself. She squeezed Hannah's wrists. "This doesn't look bad at all," she said to fill the silence.

"Oh good. Everyone told me I was being dramatic, but I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something more serious. It was a _new_ spell after all."

This didn't surprise Lily. Even in Hogwarts Hannah had always been over cautious. She went to Quidditch matches prepared for all types of weather and over studied to prepare in case of a pop examination.

"Well, all you need is a burn ointment. I'll prescribe you a cream meant for potion induced burns. Lily jotted down her signature and tore out a piece of paper from her notepad and handed it to Hannah. "Just take this to the third-floor receptionist and she'll help you."

"Thanks, Lily. Or should I say Healer Potter?"

"Yeah, can you believe it?" Lily asked, gesturing to her new lime green robes.

"New hair, new job. You're a whole different person."

"We should get together, Hannah," Lily said, feeling a sudden urge to reconnect with her old friend. Lily knew she looked different, but she certainly didn't want to change so much that she began alienating the people in her life. "We're all going to the pub on Friday. That new one in Diagon Alley. You should come. My brothers will be there. I'm sure they'd love to see you too."

Lily watched as Hannah's face dropped. "I don't know. Mum will probably need me at the Leaky on Friday. And I promised my dad I'd visit him at Hogwarts sometime this week, so…." She trialed off.

She didn't _want_ to push Hannah. It was really unfair to start badgering an old friend who seemed to have a legitimate excuse, and yet...Lily found the question slipping out before she could stop herself.

"Surely you could make time for one night?" She moved her piece forward on the board towards Hannah. And then she added for good measure. "Rose and Roxy and Dominique and Molly- you can just hang out with us girls. And I don't have to tell you how Molly gets when she goes out. Sure, she's all conservative like Aunt Audrey, but that girl likes to have a good time."

"I'm still getting all of my stuff settled in. Would you believe I still haven't unpacked?" Nice counter move by Hannah.

"But Hannah, Freddy and Louis will be there. Scorpius too. And Lysander said he might try to stop by. But you can't pretend you don't miss watching Freddy and Louis get pissed? They always start up with the muggle magic tricks. It never fails." Lily attacked again.

Hannah began to open her mouth. Lily could see the countermove- a strike of attack that could easily end everything now. She was going to say she couldn't. She had promised her mum other plans. She'd take a rain check. And so, Lily looked across the board and planned out her move before Hannah had the chance to strike.

"You missed us. Don't lie to me, Hannah."

Hannah smiled, and Lily smiled back. The blonde's shoulders dropped, a sure sign of a guard being fully let down. Checkmate.

"Okay."

It was a low move to drag her other cousins as a motive to get Hannah to come out, she knew. She hadn't missed the edge in Hannah's voice when Lily had mentioned Al would be there, and a selfish part of her was interested in seeing how they got on together after being separated all these years. There break up had been strange, and no one could convince her that it was amicable no matter how much they tried. And so, she was _very_ interested in seeing the pair of them together. Would they act like strangers? Would they hook up? Would it be painful?

"Thanks again, Lily," she said sweetly. "I really do love the hair, by the way." Lily smiled politely, and gave Hannah directions towards the lift that would take her to the 3rd level. And with a last wave, Hannah disappeared through the corridor of Healers and patients to collect her burn ointment.

Lily didn't want to think Hannah would purposefully avoid her family, and no one else in the family seemed to question the validity of the breakup quite like Lily had. But then again, no one had been friends with the couple to the extent that Lily was.

Being in the same year, Lily and Hannah spent a lot of time together long before Albus even entered the picture. Neither girl played Quidditch, so they tended to hang around each other during matches. Both Lily and Hannah had friends within different houses so they bonded over the very specific dilemma of wanting to cheer for multiple teams.

At Albus's graduation, Lily remembered her brother seeming so happy, and at the time she had thought it was because of Hannah. She remembered confessing to her roommates that she thought Albus was in love with Hannah only to be thoroughly embarrassed when the couple had mutually announced their breakup.

And later, Lily had been present to witness Hannah and Al together at parties and family dinners. Their behavior was so friendly and normal that Lily couldn't help but be suspicious.

 _"_ _Who stays that friendly after a breakup?" she exclaimed, privately confessing her suspicions to Roxy Weasley, after a family dinner one night. "Who?"_

 _Roxy looked thoroughly unconvinced by Lily's rambling examination of Al and Hannah's unlikely friendship. "They just didn't work out as a couple, Lily. That doesn't mean they can't be friends."_

 _"_ _Something's not right," Lily said stubbornly. "I can feel it."_

 _"_ _Can you?"_

 _"_ _You know, I think you're mocking me."_

 _"_ _Only when you start talking bollocks."_

 _Lily ignored her. "Didn't you see them tonight? I wouldn't be surprised if they're secretly still a couple with the way they flirt."_

 _Roxy scoffed. "They weren't flirting. And even if they were," she added loudly before Lily could interject her dissent, "wouldn't they just be a couple in the open? Nothing is stopping them."_

 _"_ _Ah! THAT'S the mystery!"_

 _"_ _There is no mystery, Lily."_

 _"_ _There is. I can feel it."_

 _"_ _No. What you're feeling is mental illness." Roxy paused. "Or maybe you're drunk. I think my dad spiked the pumpkin juice again."_

 _Lily huffed. "Believe me, the mystery will be exposed one day, and when it is," she gave her cousin a significant look. "You'll be sorry."_

 _Roxy looked amused. "Why will I be sorry?"_

 _"_ _Because…I knew…and…just let me have my moment, alright?"_

 _"_ _Alright," said Roxy skeptically._

About a month after that suspicious conversation with Roxy, Lily had to concede that Hannah and Albus were in fact probably not having a clandestine relationship. Based on their conflicting work schedules and the fact that Hannah always seemed to be overseas, Lily resigned herself to believe that the two were just very talented at maintaining a post breakup friendship.

Lily shook her head as she heard a coworker call her name. Wiping her mind of any thoughts of friends, family, or mysteries, she shifted into Healer mode, and continued with her shift.

-Friday Night-

"You know who might be going to be at the pub tonight?" Lily asked as she watched Rose get ready.

Rose met her cousin's gaze through the mirror she was currently sitting in front of to get ready. It was already far later than Rose would have preferred, but Lily had insisted they wait before getting ready in order to make sure they would arrive at the right moment. It had been dark outside for hours. And Lily knew her cousin would've been happy to be in bed rather than siting at a vanity discussing lipstick shades. "I already know our entire family is coming, Lily. The real miracle would be if you could somehow get Hugo to make an appearance."

"That would be quite impressive all things considering. But, no. Hannah."

Rose frowned. "Why?"

Lily was not surprised by her cousin's unenthusiastic response. She didn't know too much about Rose's relationship with Hannah Longbottom II, but if Lily had to guess, she would say a fierce, unwavering protection of Albus was the reason for Rose's frosty reaction. They had always been the closest.

"I invited her. Hannah is a good person, Rose."

"I know," she admitted, somewhat begrudgingly.

"She's just returned to England. Shouldn't we try to befriend her again? We were always good friends in Hogwarts."

"Many things were different back in Hogwarts, Lily."

"It'll be fun, I promise. Hannah is a good person," Lily repeated.

"Why do you keep saying that? Who are you trying to convince?"

"You, apparently."

"Al's going to be there too," Rose said. "You don't think it will be strange for them to see each other?"

Lily thought about Hannah's hesitancy back when they were at Mungo's. When Lily had mentioned her family would be joining her at the pub, the excuses had come fast and quick. Lily didn't want to mention to Rose that Hannah had not seemed too excited at the prospect of seeing her brother and that Lily had to convince her to agree to make an appearance.

"I don't think we'll have any problems," said Lily evasively. "Hopefully Scorpius will keep you distracted enough that you won't even notice a little Al and Hannah drama anyway," she added, hoping that the mention of the blonde Healer would distract her cousin enough to drop the topic of Albus and Hannah.

"We're not really going to discuss that again, are we?" Lily almost laughed. It seemed she was more than happy to continue discussing the topic.

"Make your eye makeup a little smokier. This is a pub, for Merlin's sake! Natural looking makeup is a daytime look." Lily threw a case a black eye shadow at her cousin.

"Bloody hell, Lily!"

"You're going to wear lacy undergarments, yes?"

"What does that matter? My whole family is going to be there. I'm certainly not going to be stripping in the pub."

"Rose, Rose, Rose," Lily said. "Don't sound so scandalized. This is about confidence. If you wear something sexy, you will feel sexy. Lingerie is the ultimate cure to feeling less than your best."

"You have been living with Roxy much too long, I think."

"Rose!" Lily chirped gleefully. "Think of it this way. I've worked with Scorpius for years, so I just _happen_ to know that Mr. Malfoy has not exactly been getting a leg over. And he could use some help, if you know what I mean. You have to seduce this man. He's not good at making the first move. If he was, he would have done it by now."

"I…I don't even know how to respond to that," Rose muttered shaking her head. "I hope you know this is all very unhelpful."

"What are you going to wear?" Lily asked, ignoring her cousin's tone.

"Jeans?" offered Rose.

"This. Is. A. Pub. Rose. You wear jeans to go to the Apothecary." Lily opened Rose's closet and began to rummage around. "You do not wear jeans when a handsome man has recently seen your knickers after patching up your leg."

Rose gaped. "Excuse me?'

Lily popped her head out of the closet. She grinned widely. "He had to file an off-site injury report because he used Mungo's supplies. And I just happened to see it."

"Fucking hell," moaned Rose. "He wrote about my knickers?"

Lily laughed. "No, that part he told me in person after I approached him about it. To be honest, he said he was extremely uncomfortable- but only because he thought you seemed uncomfortable!" she added quickly upon seeing Rose's mortified expression. "And then he said you passed out once the medications overwhelmed you."

Rose groaned again.

"Were they at least sexy knickers, Rose?"

"Oh he didn't go into that detail with you?" Rose snapped.

"Don't be upset, Rosie. Honestly he seemed embarrassed about making you feel uncomfortable more than anything else," Lily cooed with a smile. "He said you had nice legs."

"What?" Rose asked turning around on her vanity stool to fully face Lily, immediately more interested than before. "Is that true?"

"Yes, Rose. You can't really be surprised? You're a very beautiful, very powerful woman. Maybe your ex couldn't handle that, but do you really think Scorpius Malfoy is the type of bloke to back away from a challenge?"

"So now I'm a challenge? Twenty seconds ago I was supposed to be the seductive vixen."

"You can be a well-rounded seductive challenge."

"I'm not wearing the lace knickers," Rose said, crossing her arms.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine. Scorpius is probably more of a full coverage wizard anyway."

Rose hurled a hairbrush at her cousin.

-Scorpius-

Scorpius had to laugh at the absurdity of his life. When he was younger, Scorpius was always nervous whenever he would talk about his friendship with Albus to his parents. He quickly picked up the habit of forgetting to mention Al's surname if his friends came up in conversation to his family.

Now, as he looked around the pub, his table crowded with Weasleys and Potters, Scorpius wasn't sure how his strict life had taken this path, but he was certainly grateful.

James Potter clinked his pint against Scorpius's. "Here's to a rough week, mate."

"Tough week in the Quidditch world?" Scorpius asked.

James grunted.

"Were you overseas? I didn't think Puddlemere was traveling," Scorpius commented. He honestly didn't know much about James's job as Public Relations Coordinator for Puddlmere United. Working at St. Mungo's barely allowed him to pay much attention to teams other than the few he caught on the wireless when Al listened in their flat. However, James was a favorite among the gossip rags, and the Prophet even picked up a few of the stories if they were having a slow week. Scorpius figured if James really was having a rotten week, it could easily be due to the unyielding press just as much as it was to the stress of his job. Potter was a popular name to write about, and it added fuel to the fire that their subject was notorious with witches and seemed to enjoy posing for photos.

"No, we were here." James spoke morosely before taking a long gulp of his pint. "Unfortunately."

"Hey!"

Both Scorpius and James turned to see a beaming Lily. She had clearly not come from the Hospital like he had, because she was wearing a bright shade of lipstick and a glittery top. Scorpius had already seen her dramatic new look several times already when their paths crossed at the hospital, so he gave a nonchalant wave, but James cursed enthusiastically.

"Oy! Who's this bombshell?" he called as he gave Lily a kiss on the check and ruffled her dark hair.

Lily gagged theatrically before pulling away from her brother. Scorpius didn't blame her. Lily had always complained about James's women- he knew Lily would want to look as faraway from anything that James Potter found appealing as possible. Lily smiled as a group of her female cousins screeched. The Weasley women had obviously just caught sight of her new look and were descending.

"Look at your hair!"

"Spin around!"

"What charm did you use?"

"Arg!" Fred Weasley, who was sitting next to James, winced as the witches tittered and shouted their questions over the din of the pub. "Let's get another pint while they chat, yeah?"

"Where are you going?"

Just as James, Fred, and Scorpius stood up to fetch their drinks, Rose appeared. "Hey," Scorpius said, happy to see her. Something about her seemed brighter. Her lips were shimmery and her eyes seemed to stand out more so now than before.

"You look nice," Scorpius said reflexively looking up and down at her sleek dress. And then he kicked himself. Rose's entire family is here, he thought miserably. Not the time or place to start ogling her.

"You don't want to hear about Lily's new hair?" Fred asked.

"Oh, sorry," Rose said, looking away from Scorpius to address Fred. "Did you want to tell me something about it?"

Fred reached across James to ruffle Rose's hair, which prompted her to swat at him.

"We were just going to get more pints."

"You too?" Rose asked Scorpius. Scorpius had been planning on walking over with James and Fred simply to avoid being left alone in earshot of the squealing Weasley women, but now that Rose was here...

"You go," he said to James and Fred. The two cousins shot him miserable looks, and Scorpius decided he only felt slightly guilty for abandoning them, but not bad enough to change his mind. Rose took James's recently vacated seat, and Scorpius pulled out his own chair.

Rose gestured to Scorpius's pint. "You should drink. You've hardly skimmed the surface."

"Stop trying to get me pissed," Scorpius teased. "I don't see you with a drink. How long have you been here anyway?" Scorpius asked. He had only arrived at the pub ten or so minutes ago, and he knew there were various Weasleys wondering around that he hadn't even seen yet.

"Not long enough apparently. Not one bloke offered to buy me a drink," Rose said biting back a smile.

Scorpius laugh. "Is that a hint? You know, Weasley. I feel quite used."

Rose laughed as Scorpius held up his drink to a waiter passing their table nearby. "We'll have 2 more. Thank you."

"How's the flat without me?" Rose asked.

"There's less blood."

"That's out of order!" Rose said, feigning a blow to the chest. "You really know how to kick a witch when she's down, hmm?"

"You look nice, tonight," Scorpius said, the words slipping out involuntarily.

"You already said that." Rose smiled.

He had, that was true. But watching Rose smile and joke around made him feel lightheaded. She had always been beautiful- that had never changed. But now, with her sitting here with her bright smile and dark eyes and sweet laugh- it was making it hard for Scorpius to focus. He hadn't flirted in a while, but now he was going to try it with Rose while they were surrounded by their friends and family? Did he have a death wish?

"Tell me a fun Healer story," said Rose, interrupting Scorpius's thoughts.

"A fun Healer story." Scorpius repeated.

"Oh don't give me that look. Lily tells me hers, so I know what you're hiding."

"Well then Lily is breaking St. Mungo's protocol because we're not allowed to tell you civilians about our lifesaving acts."

"Ughhh." Rose feigned a gag when Scorpius uttered 'lifesaving acts.'

"Don't be mad, love," Scorpius said, using his best seductive voice. "Maybe one day I'll tell you my secrets. After all, I am a man with the gift." He paused dramatically. "The gift of life."

Rose whacked his arm. "Git."

"Some women find Healers very fit," Scorpius said, the words leaving him before he could call them back. But she had touched him. And she was laughing at _his_ jokes, and he couldn't stop himself. The flirty tone just slipped out. He had to physically restrain himself from pinching his arm. Was this really happening?

Was Rose his friend? Did she only think of them as friends? But then why was it so easy to flirt with her? Why had they never tried a relationship when flirting was this much fun? Why couldn't Scorpius remember?

"Well don't you think very highly of yourself."

Scorpius leaned in closely to Rose as he lowered his voice. "Should I not?"

He watched Rose bite her bottom lip. Something punched at his chest. He couldn't stop himself from flirting with her, which was almost like living someone else's life, he realized. And flirting did tend to lead to other things, but as Rose bit her lip an image shot through Scorpius's head he hadn't thought about in years. A time before Mungo's or flat mates or bloody ministry mail issues. A time when he had thought Rose's lips quite a lot.

"Should we toast?" Scorpius asked suddenly, holding out his drink. He need to distract himself, and get his mind off that memory. And he needed to get her to stop making that pouty, sexy thing with her lips.

"What would we toast to?" Rose asked.

"To Gryffindors. Where dwell the brave at heart."

"Strange toast for a Slytherin to make."

"I am finding myself strangely drawn to Godric Gryffindor's lifestyle more and more with age. Bravery was never my strong suit, I will admit. But something tells me all this time spent with this lot," Scorpius glanced around to the large crowd of Weasleys scattered in every direction, "has begun to shift my opinions."

Rose smiled and raised her own glass. "to Slytherins."

He raised his eyebrows. She shrugged.

"I don't mind a little Ambition in my life. Plus, Al is always saying Slytherins have more fun anyway."

"Oh?"

"Mhmm. I don't know if you will believe me, but the only two times I've ever been drunk at Hogwarts I was with a Slytherin.

Scorpius felt something tug inside of him. A kick or maybe a punch- but whatever it was, it certainly felt like it was coming from his chest. He wondered if her words were meant to be some sort of code. She tossed him the clues, and laid them out before him to sort through, and now he was expected to piece together the meaning. But the meaning seemed to him fairly obvious. Too obvious. He swallowed, and then immediately regretted the action, wondering if it made him look like he was suddenly afraid of the words she had just spoken. Maybe he was. "Is that so?"

Rose clicked her glass against the one Scorpius held. Her eyes never left his. "Cheers, Scorpius."


	5. Chapter 5

Albus took a long drag on his cigarette. For the first time that night, he wished the family had picked to gather at a muggle pub. Outside the wizarding world, there would always be at least a few muggles smoking as well, which was a small comfort. Al felt constantly berated by his magical friends and relatives when he lit up around them. It was a habit his parents detested, but Al was sure he would have never picked it up had his mum and dad not been so keen on spending so much of their time in the muggle world to dodge the celebrity spotlight. And when Al came of age and he and his cousins decided to explore some of the Muggle drinking haunts, he had been intrigued by the pubs and how they never seemed to lack a group of muggles outside gathered in their small circles sharing flames and trading stories- whether they knew each other or not.

But to be fair to his parents, Al probably wouldn't have latched on the cigarettes if it hadn't been for Hannah.

He took another long drag as the thought of Hogwarts filled his mind. Rose and Scorpius would say Al used smoking as a way of avoiding dealing with the pain that took full force after graduation. Well, to that Al would say, thank you and fuck off.

Both of his mates had an uncanny way of sticking their noses into places they didn't belong. And it wasn't necessarily that he had any right to blame Hannah for his addiction to his new drug. They had both mutually agreed to part He took another drag. It really wouldn't be any use thinking about those things now. Hogwarts always took him to some dark places in his memories.

He turned his head as he blew his smoke, not realizing that at that moment, a woman was passing by to enter the pub. This particular pub Roxy had picked out was one of their regulars on the high street in Diagon Alley. It wasn't the most popular- that honor belonged to the flashy establishment across the street with the bright lights, dance floor, and fast music. It played host to parties and groups of younger people. Even now, Al could see a long queue of people forming outside the door, and he found himself being thankful that his cousin had opted for a quieter setting tonight. In the back of his mind, he thought about the Leaky Cauldron and wondered if Hannah would be there now. It was well within walking distance. Maybe he could just swing by?

The woman crossing by Al coughed unhappily, and waved her hand to clear the air. Albus felt himself flush, and move the cigarette out of her sight line. He may have picked up a deplorable habit, but he didn't need to make other people uncomfortable like some degenerate. He still had manners.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," Al apologized gruffly. He dropped the cigarette to the ground, stamping it out, and reached a consoling arm to the woman as she coughed. She turned her head, the hood of her cloak falling back with the movement. Blonde curls flashed before Al's vision and Hannah's blue eyes met green.

She lit up in recognition. "Albie," she said with a pretty smile, her arms immediately reaching for him. Albus wondered for a moment if he would ever get used to the swoop that passed through his stomach every time Hannah used his child nickname. She was the only one who could still get away with it. He didn't want Hannah to ever feel like a stranger to him. He knew Rose would think he was being impractical, but Albus didn't want things or feelings to change between them. Wasn't he still allowed to love her even though they weren't dating?

"You're smoking." He could hear the distaste in her voice. It was no surprise to him that Hannah wouldn't be impressed; she wasn't the kind of person to be interested in such habits.

"Never mind that." Albus wasted no time in pulling Hannah close to him in a tight embrace. "You're here!"

"You knew I was in England," Hannah chided, pulling away.

"I mean here." Al gestured at the ground. "Here, tonight." He hadn't invited her to the pub. He had no idea any of his family members besides Lily even knew she was in the country. Although he shouldn't be surprised. When one cousin knew a piece of information, the rest usually found out soon enough.

"Yes." Hannah motioned at the pub. She still gazed at the trail of smoke distastefully. "Let's go inside. I can't stand the smell."

Albus held the door open for Hannah as they both walked into the crowded and noisy bar and away from the lingering smell of Al's stamped-out cigarette.

Albus prepared himself to stand by as Hannah rushed over to his family to greet them one by one, hug them, smile politely, and answer their questions about her job overseas. But instead, to his unfiltered delight, she discreetly chose a place at the bar and shrugged out of her cloak without looking around the room for additional company.

Albus didn't comment on her behavior. But as far as he was concerned, the less time she spent mingling with his cousins, the more time he could spend with her all to himself. And maybe this was her small way of telling him, she'd rather spend time alone with him? Al took the seat next to her, carefully considering this gesture she had made by isolating herself. He knew Hannah got along spectacularly well with his cousins. The woman he knew had been a friend to everyone in Hogwarts- no matter House or year. Scorpius liked to joke that Hannah was probably the only student in the castle who had been granted all the Common room passwords simply by being polite.

"How did you know where we would all be here tonight?" Albus asked.

"Oh, Lily told me."

"You and Lily got together?" Al searched his mind, wondering if his sister had mentioned a lunch or meeting that he would've forgot to note...

Hannah nodded. "I was at St. Mungo's—"

"The hospital?" Albus found the worry slipping out before he could real it back. Hannah stared at him silently. He felt a flush rise to the back of his neck. Interrupting Hannah was not something that was new to their dynamic, and was something she found very irritating as she had informed him many times before. How was it that she had only just got back into the country, and he was already winding her up? He mumbled an apology, and she continued.

"Anyway, I was helping mum at The Leaky, and I tried this silly new spell to heat the soup." Hannah waved her hands to gesture that there was actually much more to the story than she was letting on. "Long story short, Lily treated my burns."

"You burned yourself?"

"It's nothing to get worked up about."

"Where?" Albus asked, beginning to inspect Hannah.

"Albie, honestly, I'm fine."

"Are you? Did you get a second opinion? You know sometimes the healing ointments change depending on how the burn happened. I'd feel better if —"

"Merlin, Albie, bugger off!"

That tone. How easily it had slipped out of his mind and fallen in the bank of repressed Hogwarts memories that he tried not to access. Hannah was a vision, a beauty, and everyone's friend. But how quickly he had forgotten the times like these when they had not been so happy, and their fights had been harsh and unyielding. Al immediately stopped searching Hannah's skin for redness. In all his years knowing her, and even when she broke up with him, Hannah had used many tactics to win an argument: silence, rationale, teasing. But she had never told him to bugger off before. The phrase in itself was more than a little condescending, as if she didn't care at all about his side of this conversation. Al's Hannah wouldn't have minded being humored by his concern and would've shown off her burns and smiled at his concern, but this Hannah wanted him to bugger off. He stared at her, trying to find visible signs of the difference

"I'm sorry," Hannah apologized quickly, looking more than a little embarrassed. Her cheeks were flushed a bright red and she looked around the room now conscious of the fact that she had been louder than necessary, and Albus decided she did looked genuinely sorry at her outburst. She seemed surprised herself that their conversation escalated as quickly as it did. "I'm…I'm so sorry."

"S'fine," he mumbled, feeling uncomfortable. He could feel others in the pub looking in their direction. It seemed Hannah could feel their stares too because she immediately began to make amends for her behavior. She grabbed his hand and widened her eyes in earnest.

"I know it's no excuse, but I've had a truly rotten week. And I think I must still be experiencing some lingering drowsiness from my international portkey, and then to top it all off I had to go to St. Mungos. I guess I shouldn't have come at all, but Lily was in front of me at the Hospital and she was doing a really great job convincing me. And I knew you'd be here, Al and we hadn't spoken in so long. I shouldn't have come. I see that now. And I really." Hannah squeezed his hand tighter. "I _really_ apologize." Hannah turned on her bar stool.

"Hannah, don't go!"

"No, I should. I'm still so tired from working at The Leaky earlier and I think I may be having a reaction from this burn ointment." She smiled sadly at him. "I don't want to snap at you again, Albie."

Al watched with a frown as Hannah swung her cloak back on.

"Leaving already, Longbottom?"

James had appeared, much to Albus's displeasure. He saw that Hannah looked just as annoyed by his brother's interruption. She gave him a nod. Hannah usually got along well with everyone in the Potter and Weasley clan, but Albus knew tonight's outburst must have truly embarrassed her if she wasn't in the mood to chat. She and James especially got on well because she liked to laugh at his corny chat up lines. If she couldn't even muster a smile for James, it probably was best for her to get some rest.

"I'm tired," she said curtly. She smiled at Albus, who cursed silently as he felt his heart leap. "We'll grab a bite sometime and catch up, yeah?"

Albus nodded, trying not to let his happiness show too much in front of his brother. James would only tease him.

"I was just leaving too, actually," James said. "I'll escort you home. Where do you live nowadays? Camden?"

"That's not necessary," she said, as she pulled her clock tight around her neck. "It'll only take me a second to disapparate."

"Nonsense, we can catch up," James said with a suave smile that Albus hated. How could James be so smooth with Hannah, but he had such trouble even saying the simplest things? How had this particular trait been transferred to one brother and not another? It seemed wholly unfair. "You can spend time with Al, but not me?" James gave Hannah his best sad, tortured face.

"Maybe you should go with him," Albus said. Hannah turned towards him, her expression hard. He didn't want Hannah to think he thought she couldn't handle getting home by herself. He shook his head. "I mean, you know, just because you're both leaving together anyway. It just seems convenient."

"Fine," she snapped, and immediately stomped off towards the exit. James hurried after her.

"Night," James called with a wave in Albus's direction.

* * *

"Lil-lee," Roxy sang as she push another drink in front of her dark haired cousin. "I am disappointed."

"I know. The cute bartender switched shifts to tomorrow. Bad luck, Roxy darling," Lily said loudly, making sure her drunk cousin could hear her over the loud music being pipped into the dark pub. Either Lily was getting drunker or the music had gotten louder since they arrived, because Lily didn't remember having to yell as loudly when they ordered their first drink.

How long ago was that?

"That _is_ bad luck. But no. I meant I'm disappointed in you."

"Me?" Lily asked, surprised. "What did I do?"

"You've got this new look and great new job, and you're wasting this new found juju on Rose," Roxy said shaking her head.

"Juju? Did you just make that up?"

"You know, that energetic, positive, can't stop me now feeling that comes when something big in your life changes. New look, look job, new man, new house, new _whatever._ And you're wasting yours trying to get Rose into a relationship that probably would've happened on its own anyway," Roxy said as she raised her Firewhiskey glass to gesture towards the couple in question.

Lily looked over to the pair who was still sitting together, where they had been since arriving. Rose had Scorpius downing shots and laughing loudly.

"So, what's so wrong with that? She just got out of a break up. Remember Dafty?"

"Ugh, don't remind me!" Roxy tossed a cocktail napkin at her cousin, which Lily promptly swatted to the floor.

Lily took a long swig of her drink before speaking. "You think I'm that pathetic, Roxy?'

"I just think you need to get laid just as much as much as Rose. Actually strike that. MORE than Rose. At least she was getting shagged by Dull Doony. When was the last time you got a leg over?"

"Oy!"

Now suddenly Lily was very thankful for the loud music as she looked around to see if anyone had overheard her cousin yelling. It was bad enough that Lily didn't have anyone in her life, but she didn't need everyone in the pub to _know_ she wasn't having sex. "It's harder than it looks, Roxy. I know you never have trouble, but no one wants to 'get a leg over' with Harry Potter's daughter."

"That's rubbish!"

"Stop yelling!"

Roxy rolled her eyes. She raised her glass to a group of wizards gathered around the bar.  
"I met someone."

"No kidding? Here? He's not ginger, is he? Because you know in these dim pub lights our family can begin to seem like strangers after too many drinks…."

"Ha ha ha." Roxy laughed wryly at Lily's teasing. "His name is Andrew, and we snogged in the loo for half an hour when you were chatting with Lucy."

"Charming."

"He invited me out to dinner too, and we didn't even shag yet."

"Well if that isn't true love I don't know what is."

"Do you see his friend?" Roxy asked, gesturing back to the group. That bloke with the brown curls has been watching you all night."

"Well, he might be a stalker."

"Lily." Roxy became suddenly serious. She put down her drink and put her hands on both sides of Lily's face. "This is how it works. Trust me, he has been trying to catch your eye all night. _And_ I saved the best for last," Roxy teased as she dropped her hands from Lily's face.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, confused by her cousin's suddenly smug demeanor.

"I mean, I've been over there a few times. I've spoken to those charming men myself. And Mr. curly hair is American. _American,_ Lily," Roxy said, her eyes widening to emphasize her point. "So he hasn't grown up seeing our family on the cover of any magazines or newspapers. You're welcome."

Lily looked over again at the man Roxy was referring to. She had to admit he was very attractive. And the fact that he was American certainly didn't hurt anything. But what exactly was she supposed to do with an American?

"I can't date an American," Lily said her thoughts spilling out of her.

Roxy snorted. "Lily, maybe before you think about dating, you should try talking. Anyway, who knows? Maybe this will only be a one night sort of meeting?"

"A one night stand? I don't know, Roxy. Is that really the type of witch I am?"

Roxy laughed. "Who do you think you're trying to fool, Potter?" She set her drink down and playfully nudged her cousin towards the bar. "But for now, you don't have to do anything except talk."

And with that, Lily hauled herself out of the dark booth and towards the curly haired stranger sitting at the bar.

* * *

"Merlin, Albie, bugger off!"

James head snapped up at the sound of her voice. He looked down the bar to see the familiar rose-faced blonde sitting with his oblivious brother. James immediately felt an angry heat flow through his chest. Well, if she was trying to get a rise out of him, it was fucking working.

Hannah had clearly known James would be here, and yet she sought to chat with Albus in front of him. James had known their argument had not ended on the best terms, but for the love of Merlin, he didn't think she would go this far. Al was off limits, and he had been off limits since Germany. And now she was parading him in front of their entire bleeding family. Well, two could play this little game.

Without thinking about it, he abandoned his pint and began to walk towards the pair so that he could hear their conversation better in the din of the noisy pub.

"…I've had a truly rotten week…" Good, James thought smugly. He hadn't been able to focus properly since their spat, and his boss had even given him a formal reprimand. His concentration lately had been shite, and all because of her. Every morning began with thoughts of _her._ And every night ended with firewhisky and more thoughts of _her._ Even in his sodding dreams, he couldn't escape her and their escapades in Germany. And then he'd wake up and it was the same old story- cold, alone, empty bed, and Hannah on his mind. She was always on his mind. It was satisfying to hear she had been suffering just as much as him.

"…And I think I must still be drowsy from my international portkey, and then to top it all off, I had to go to St. Mungo's. I guess I shouldn't have come at all."

This information about going to St. Mungo's was new. He'd have to get her alone in order to ask her more about it- no way was he going to start a conversation in front of Albus. James just listened to her speak, mesmerized by the sound. He hadn't spoken to her in a week, so he had forgotten the caramel smoothness of her voice. It was nice to listen to without her glaring at him.

"Hannah, don't go."

"No, I should. I'm still so tired from working at The Leaky earlier and I think I may be having a reaction from this burn ointment. I don't want to snap at you again, Albie."

James rolled his eyes at Hannah's pet name for his younger brother. Hannah didn't know Albus was still in love with her, even though it was blatantly obvious to anyone who watched the pair interact. Even Albus wasn't aware James knew about his crush, and that was how he liked to keep it. James had decided long ago that when it came to Hannah, things were easier if they all just feigned ignorance.

When James saw Hannah pull on her traveling cloak, he decided it was time to make his entrance.

"Leaving already, Longbottom?"

James cheered internally when Hannah met his gaze. He loved her eyes. He could spend hours staring into them, although at the moment she wasn't sending him the sweetest of gazes.

"I'm tired."

James had expected this reaction, but was disappointed when she smiled at Al and spoke to him instead. "We'll grab a bite sometime and catch up, yeah?"

James tried to hold in his vomit. Hannah knew James was uncomfortable in their arrangement as long as she and Al were hanging out. She was inviting him to lunch to purposefully spite him. James had approached Hannah as an offer of peace, and Hannah had spit on his white flag.

He decided to continue.

"I was just leaving too, actually," James said. "I'll escort you home. Where do you live nowadays? Camden?"

If he hadn't been watching her carefully, he doubted he would have been able to catch her reaction, but he was and he had. Her shoulders had tensed and her lips thinned. He knew exactly where she lived; Hannah had gushed to him about her new apartment many times. At this point, he figured he could probably direct a blind tramp to her doorstep with no problem considering the amount of times Hannah had repeated the address to herself since she was so nervous she wouldn't be able to remember it.

"That's not necessary. It'll only take me a second to disapparate."

"Nonsense, we can catch up." James smiled insincerely, planning out his words in his head. If Hannah was going to use Al in their little game, so was he. "You can spend time with Al, but not me?"

"Maybe you should go with him." Both Hannah and James turned to face Al. James had begun to forget he was there, which was a normal occurrence when it came to Hannah. She had a tendency to make him act a bit irrational. But James was sure he hadn't misheard the words his brother had offered. Had James not been about to burst with satisfaction, he would've felt bad for his younger brother. Perhaps it was his fault that Al had never been so great at courting witches- after all, wasn't his job as an older brother to pass on his tricks to his younger siblings? Albus swallowed nervously before speaking again. "I mean, you know, just because you're both leaving together anyway. It just seems convenient."

Yes. Convenient was certainly the word.

"Fine," Hannah snapped, turning towards the exit.

James rushed after Hannah before she could get away. "Night," James called over his shoulder.

"And thanks," he whispered with a smile.

* * *

"Hi."

"Hi."

"I have a question."

"Okay."

"Are you American?"

"I am American."

"Well I guess that settles it."

The man with the thick curly brown hair gazed at Lily as she twirled her dark hair between her fingers. "Did I just win a bet for you or something?"

Lily looked back over at her cousin, now suddenly unsure of herself and wondering if she made a mistake by coming over to him. A man had sidled up to the spot she had previously vacated and Roxy embraced him happily. Yes. definitely too late to back out. "Oh no. I was just curious."

"Curious," he repeated with a smile. "Well I have to admit I am now a bit disappointed."

Lily's gaze stuck on his lips. They seemed to be the perfect shade of pink. Was it possible he was wearing some kind of balm? Surely that sort of perfection had to be artificial. How much had she had to drink again? She watched the way the lines seemed to disappear entirely from his mouth when his lips turned up. "Why's that?" She breathed the question.

"Well if you had bet on me, you would have won some money and then I would have insisted you buy me a drink to thank me for my part in securing you our winnings."

"That scenario would have relied on the idea that I bet _on_ you and not against you."

"I guess that's a chance I'd have to take." He took of drink from his bottle, and his mouth was promptly covered from Lily's view. "So if it's not a bet, what was it that drew you over here? American fetish?"

Lily laughed, trying to ignore the fact that she might have been staring at lips far longer than appropriate. "I saw a cute bloke ordering a drink and thought I'd say hello since my cousin has decided to abandon me for her current interest." Lily tossed her gaze over to where Roxy sat in a corner booth wrapped over her new guy- Andrew, it must be.

"Cute bloke, huh? Anything I can help with?"

"Yes, actually. You could sit down," Lily sat pointedly. She pushed out the bar stool his direction.

"Hmm."

Lily watched him, wondering if she could tell by any of his movements if he could recognize her. Sure, he was American- she could tell from the accent. But they still had gossip rags in the states, didn't they? And then immediately chided herself. Stop. Stop trying to see if he can recognize you. Surely Roxy wasn't questioning Andrew's motives like this, and she doubted Rose ever felt the need to second guess Daffin's intentions when they had first started dating. Certainly James would never spend a moment wondering if any of his lovers recognized him- he would probably introduce himself as _James Potter, son of Harry and Ginny._ And is that stopping him or any of her relatives from finding a relationship?

Stop, she thought once more. Just stop and focus on him. Her hair was different _and_ she hadn't even told him her name. She had nothing to be concerned about at this point. Merlin- she was acting like _Rose_ with all her second guessing and concerns. No wonder Roxy had pulled her aside to try to get her to start something up. When it came to relationships, Lily was not great at taking big strides.

She took a deep breath, trying to shut out her thoughts and her insecurities to focus instead on this man with the curly hair in front of her. This man- this terribly handsome man before her- who had just now grabbed the barstool and taken a seat.

"Well you already know one of my secrets, that I'm American, so tell me one of yours."

"Is that a secret?" Lily asked in surprise as she plopped herself on the stool next to him and waved her hand to flag down the bartender who was busy serving customers at the other end. "You do a crap job of hiding it."

He smiled. "We can't all have a beautiful English accent."

She ignored his compliment. "Well, there's not much to tell. I lead a pretty boring life. Work, eat, sleep. Repeat." She certainly didn't feel the need to tell him where she worked. Sure, she was talking to a man she didn't know, but she'd probably never forget Harry Potter's lessons of vigilance no matter how many time her and her brothers had rolled her eyes as children. The chances of this man being a murderer were slim, yes, but even so, she wasn't quite comfortable with the idea that he could find her at Mungo's in the morning if things went sour.

 _Lily, stop._

She could hear the words in her head as clear as if Roxy had actually spoken them aloud. He's not trying to scare you, she thought to herself _._ He's trying to flirt with you. Lily didn't have to tell him who here parents were, or her relation to the Minister of Magic, or re-tell her life story. No he just wanted to talk to the pretty girl in the dark bar. She had started this conversation after all, she had to remind herself. You came up to him. You invited him to sit. You were the one thinking about him as a one night stand. What would Roxy do? Probably snog him the pub bathroom.

Lily hesitated. What could she give this man? This stranger who she didn't want a relationship with. He wasn't just a stranger, but an American- a foreigner who could be leaving the country tomorrow for all she knew! What piece of her life could she give a person like this?

"I-" she hesitated again.

"Honestly, I'm not trying to persecute you," he joked, sensing the hesitation that seemed to be radiating from Lily. "Here, let's try this a different way. I _don't_ work as an Auror or any other investigative field, so I promise I won't try to spy on you. My job is actually pretty normal. I work with potions. That was always my best field of study in school so I just sort of continued with it. I have a bit of a talent for it."

And as soon as he said that, Lily relaxed. Oh Merlin. He was a swot. _That_ she could relate to.

"My cousin hates cats," she offered, thinking of Rose and her dislike of anything feline. "And my parents never let me have one. They never let us have any pets except for owls. But I always loved the idea of keeping a cat. I still visit the Diagon Alley Menagerie. My Aunt has a cat," Lily said, thinking of Hermione and her beast Crookshanks who by some miracle of magic was still alive, much to her Uncle Ron's displeasure. "He's really lovable and sweet. My cousin isn't so fond. She actually took their family cat to the Menagerie when she was younger and tried to trade him for an owl. My Aunt nearly had a fit."

But Lily had loved the large ginger creature, and had begged her parents to let them have one just like Crookshanks. The thought alone of keeping something around for as long as Crookshanks had been alive was enough to scare them off of cats completely.

"A secret love of cats, huh?" he asked with a smile.

Lily laughed. "Is that too personal? Did I break some kind of rule?"

"There are no rules here. My family had dogs."

"Dogs? But's that more of a muggle pet, isn't it?"

"But we were never really a traditional family." Lily waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

"So what's brought you out here tonight? You can see I'm with some friends." The curly haired man gestured at his crowd of friends who were still gathered together laughing and drinking, All Americans on holiday?

"My cousin," gesturing over at Roxy. She didn't find it necessary to mention that probably the majority of the pub was comprised of her family. Weasleys and Potters needed to be introduced in small douses. Especially with someone who was this attractive and this funny.

"And she's found her own bloke so she sent you off to find a man of your own?"

"Hmm yes" hummed Lily in reply. "But I'm not complaining."

Curly haired man grinned. "I'm not complaining either. Ok so you must have gone to Hogwarts, right? Unless you were home schooled?"

"No I went to Hogwarts," she answered. I was in Gryffindor because that's where most of my family fell, but I debated being a Slytherin for a little bit."

"And what is the difference? You'll have to fill me in."

"Well, Gryffindor runs in my family, but Slytherin was very tempting. I guess there's just something about breaking the rules that appeals to me. My brother fell into Slytherin and everyone was shocked."

"So he's the rule breaker?"

"I guess you could say that," Lily said vaguely, wanting suddenly wanting to move away from the topic of her brothers. Not something she was interested in discussing with a man she had very recently been considering as a one night stand. Not in this moment. "There's something about the ambition and the drive and the perseverance of a Slytherin. Something about those qualities of doing something that everyone else was repelled by, for a second it just seemed like it fit, you know?" Lily groaned. "But I didn't do it. I stuck with what the safe choice. My family's choice. But what would you pick?" Lily held up four fingers, and to make it easy for him, boiled down the houses to four of the most commonly associated traits. "Bravery, Ambition, Cleverness, or Kindness"

"That's all there is to choose from?"

Lily shook her head. "There's more to each house, certainly, but those are the big four. What do you think?"

He seemed to contemplate for a minute. "Clever."

Lily felt her stomach pinch. Oh, she had always been such a sucker for Ravenclaws. The way they solved the riddles to enter their common rooms was something Lily found endlessly fascinating. Anyone could memorize a password and repeat it mindlessly like a parrot. But the boys with the brains were the ones that had gained Lily's attention at Hogwarts. And the one who had managed to break her heart.

No, not tonight. She wouldn't think about that now.

Lily leaned forward. The music wasn't that loud and the bar wasn't that crowded, but she pushed herself up against the man's side as close as she could. She reached out a finger and ran it along his lower jaw. Stubble met her hand where she traced his rough edge. She raised her lips to his ear. "I have an idea."

* * *

Rose smiled, and grabbed Scorpius's drink, holding it out to him in a type of peace offering.

"Please?" she asked sweetly. "Please get as drunk as I am?"

Scorpius took the pint from Rose, and sipped the drink. She did a mock cheer as he drank. Scorpius grinned. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off her bright smile. Even after he put his drink back on the table, Scorpius didn't want to take his eyes off Rose. She spoke with such enthusiasm and joy, and while he had knew part of his infatuation was the alcohol, he couldn't help but think there was more than just firewhiskey fueling their connection. He found himself sloppily smiling at her like a lovesick fool.

His thoughts traveled back to a night, long before this one tonight when he and Rose had worn a similarly goofy expression in the Gryffindor Common Room the last December the pair had spent at Hogwarts. He shouldn't have been in the common room, as he belonged in Slytherin. But there had been many rules broken that night. The details were blurred by time. But then again, that night in the common room had never been one that he remembered with clarity. No- the Library was a much more vivid memory for Scorpius.

"Anyway," she said after finishing a long story about her busy day, "Enough about that. My life is so boring compared to yours."

He'd already finished his second pint, and while he still wasn't as drunk as Rose, he was starting to lose sense of certain boundaries

"Do you want to go for a walk?" she asked suddenly, her voice low.

"A walk?" Scorpius asked, truly surprised by her question.

"Some fresh air." She pushed her chair away from the table and stood up. She looked around the room, at her various family members. The room was still swelling with Weasleys. "Maybe find some place a little less…." She looked at him significantly as she spoke, "crowded."

Scorpius gulped, wanting more than ever to be alone with Rose. Right now being in a room full of her relatives seemed like one of the worst ideas in the world.

"I do hate crowds."

Rose laughed. They both walked towards the door.

Scorpius surveyed the room to see if anyone was watching them. It looked like many people had already left, and the few stragglers, were either drunk or absorbed in other conversations. Noticing this, Scorpius let his hand drift to Rose's lower back. He applied pressure to urge her just slightly more towards the door. Rose turned her head towards Scorpius and leaned into his touch.

It was only when the couple was right at the exit that Dominique Weasley stopped Rose and in a giggly voice, began to tell her some elaborate story about the ministry that Dominique seemed to think it was important for her cousin to know. Rose smoothly pushed Scorpius out the door, held up her finger, and mouthed "one minute" to him as she stepped to the side with her cousin.

Scorpius walked outside and peered across the dark cobbled street. There was a large group exiting the restaurant across from him. He figured it was a stag night or a birthday party because it the group seemed to be composed of a bunch of friends gathered around one embarrassed looking bloke. Scorpius leaned against the brick wall of the pub, and watched the group as he waited for Rose to sort out Lily.

He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell by the tone of their shouts they seemed to be teasing the center man. Scorpius then watched as a pretty women from the group reached out to the man being teased and wrapped herself protectively around him. She kissed the man firmly before waving the friends away.

So probably not a stag party. Unless the bride was a very understanding sort.

As Scorpius watched the couple, his mind drifted back to Rose. He wanted to see her big smile that she always tried to suppress. He wanted to see her bite her lip again like she had done inside.

He felt his stomach pull as images that involved pushing Rose against the wall of the pub swam involuntarily into his mind.

Suddenly several scenarios concerning Rose and the wall were filling Scorpius's mind. And then he remembered the last time he was had Rose Weasley pressed between himself and a wall. Merlin, that was a long time ago. He lightly slapped his jaw to get a grip. He probably looked very odd standing alone in the shadows swatting himself. _Well it probably looks less odd than a man who can't control his desires in public, you twat_ , he thought to himself, shifting his robes discreetly.

A sudden commotion from the pub entrance caused Scorpius to look over and find himself starring face to face with Lily Potter.

"Hi," said Lily, who seemed very surprised to see Scorpius alone outside on the street. She stepped a bit further outside the pub and looked left and right with squinted eyes. And suddenly she seemed to spot what she had come outside to look for in the first place. Scorpius looked down the street to where a stranger had lifted their arm in greeting. Lily waved back to unidentifiable person.

Lily turned away from the strange person to face Scorpius. "Well, bye!" she said suddenly. And then began to walk away.

Before Scorpius could shout after her, Rose re-emerged from the pub.

"She's pissed," Rose said as she supported a stumbling Dominique. "Louis spiked her drinks, the sod. So I'm taking her home."

Scorpius didn't even realize Louis was there; he had spent most of his evening absorbed with Rose.

"Scorpius!" Dominique shrieked with glee as she spotted him. She threw herself into his arms. Scorpius stumbled under the sudden weight.

"Oy, Dom," he grunted. "Your timing is ace."

Scorpius saw Rose grin out of the corner of his eye. "Meet me at my flat?" Rose asked as she took out her wand, readying for apparation.

Scorpius wrapped his arm around Lily, making sure she was ready for side along, and nodded.

It took Rose and Scorpius half an hour to convince a drunk Dominique it was time to sleep. She seemed to gain a renewed energy from whatever it was Louis has used to strengthen her drink.

"I'm going to kill Louis," Rose threatened as she watched Dominique finally sleeping on the flat's sofa. Scorpius had to agree with her on that sentiment. Before Louis's tricky potion, he had been more than prepared for a much different night. And now, he was exhausted. He was sure he had a bruise forming on his temple from where Dominique had kicked him in the temple when they had tried to coerce a potion down her.

Scorpius looked at Rose, and she stared back at him. They made silent eye contact for a few seconds before laughter set in, the absurdity of the night finally setting.

"I promise I would've been able to handle that much more quickly if I wasn't so pissed," Scorpius promised.

"Yes, yes. So you say." Rose threw him a smirk.

Scorpius turned to Rose. "I guess I'll have to make it up to you."

"Alright."

"This was fun."

Rose laughed. "Dominique kicked you that hard, huh?" She reached out to touch the bruise on the side of Scorpius's face.

"You know I love your family, Rose." And then Scorpius took Rose's hand. He brought it to his lips and placed a light kiss on her knuckles. Her hands lingered against his, but finally he pulled away and turned towards her flat door.

"I should probably get going."

Rose nodded. "Okay."

He turned to face her once more, lifted his hand with a wave, and stepped out into the hallway to disapparate.

* * *

"You are such a fucking prat," Hannah hissed as she walked onto the street outside the pub, knowing without looking that James would be behind her. "Such a ruddy wanker."

She felt the kind of anger boiling up inside of her that only James had ever been able to inspire.

She turned to walk up an ally, and then was met with a passionately snogging couple, hidden in the shadows. She screamed in frustration. First she goes to a pub and is harassed by James bleeding Potter and now she can't even stroll down a public lane without almost becoming the third person of a ménage a trios. "Is nowhere sacred anymore!"

She immediately changed directions, which caused her to slam into James.

"I don't even have any words," Hannah said darkly, before shoving herself away from James and continuing to walk. She then suddenly spun around to face James head-on. "Actually, you know what, I have so many words I don't know where to even begin. You are such a fowl, low life, piece of scum—"

"Can we go somewhere?"

"What!"

"You want to fight in the street? You _really_ want to be those people?" James asked, his voice low as he gestured around them.

Hannah could barely breathe through her anger. The idea of agreeing to go anywhere with James was not on the top of her priorities list. She ignored his question and began walking down the dark alley. She pulled out her wand to light her way as she walked.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The loud clacking of her heels against the pavement and the panting of her irritated breath in the cool night air were the only two sounds that filled her ears as she stomped through the tight twisted lanes of Diagon Ally.

In her mind Hannah was aware it would only take her a second to focus and disapparate to Camden, but she knew she wouldn't be going back home tonight. Her footsteps had taken her back to The Leaky Cauldron before she had realized it.

She figured her mum would have closed up by now, and when Hannah reached the entrance she saw she was right as the windows were dark with inactivity. She took out her wand and muttered the incantation that would release the locks and allow her to enter without setting off any alarms.

She smelled the familiar oaky scent as soon as she stepped through the entry way. Hannah enjoyed her job, but no amount of career satisfaction could replace The Leaky. This was home. This was where she belonged.

She turned at the sound of a soft knocking on the door she had just closed.

She wasn't surprised to see James's face pressed against the glass entry way; really, she would have been surprised if he hadn't followed her.

"Hannah, please," he called, his voice muffled by the barrier.

She released a frustrated sigh. She didn't want to give in to him, but she would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't somewhat curious what he wanted to say. Hannah had after all been miserable since their fight.

Hannah cast some privacy charms around the Leaky bar room, so nosey occupants sleeping in the rooms on the second floor wouldn't hear their exchange. She opened the door to James with a look of disdain.

"I don't know why you're here, James."

"I just want to talk."

Hannah gestured for him to come inside, walked over to bar, and pulled down a stool which had been placed on the bar top during nightly clean up. She sat down and watched as James mimicked her movements. When he pulled the stool off the top of the bar however, his amateur gestures caused the seat to hit the ground with a noisy bang and the legs brutally scrapped against the wooden floor. Hannah glowered at James while she watched him set the stool right.

"Ok," Hannah said once James had managed to sit. "So talk."

"Are you alright? You were in hospital?"

Hannah folded her arms over her chest. "That's not for you to worry about, Potter."

James couldn't help the half smile that slipped onto his face. "Potter?"

"Stop. I'm mad at you."

James bit back his smile and tried to nod seriously. "Okay, Longbottom. Will you at least tell me if it was something serious?"

"I burned my arm trying a new spell. Lily sorted me out. Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"We're not okay, James," Hannah said significantly trying to get their conversation back on track. James was such a clown, and he knew how to make her laugh. Unfortunately, their problems were not going to be solved with a few cute smiles and a joke.

"I know," James said sounding serious.

"I'm done being your overseas mistress," said Hannah. She had never used the M word to refer to herself until now. It wasn't until their last big fight that Hannah had taken a good hard look in the mirror and realized what she and James had been doing had to end.

James looked angry. "Stop. You're not my mistress, Hannah. You know that."

"What would you call it, James? Because I don't think you ever answered that. "

"We're…."

Hannah knew why he was hesitant to put a definition to their relationship. They weren't dating, but they were beyond friends. Friends didn't casually shag each other after all.

She should've known their arrangement was destined to fail. From the very beginning, their plans were based more on lust than logic. Both Hannah and James had jobs that required them to spend a great amount of time abroad and one night, one unbelievably coincidental night, they both happened to be at the same pub in Germany.

The conversation turned to relationships, and after 1 pint (or 10), they found themselves wrapped around each other the next morning in a hotel room. It was James who suggested the arrangement that had inevitably led them to all this trouble.

Both James and Hannah worked abroad, and they were therefore both part of the small group granted access to cross foreign lines without the typical security restraints due to the high amount of travel required of their jobs. James saw this shared Travel Amnesty as an opportunity.

Hannah admittedly did not take much convincing. While she loved her job, she was terrifically lonely. She hadn't been with a man in months, and hadn't had a proper boyfriend since Albie. She felt guilty whenever she thought about her ex, but she hadn't given him much thought at all when she had originally slept with James, and for that she felt terrible. They were still friends after all. She had evidence of that on-going friendship in the various letters still packed in her luggage.

She couldn't think about him now though. She pushed Albie out of her mind, like she so often did when James was around.

James hadn't coerced her into the arrangement; Hannah had known exactly what kind causal relationship they had agreed to after all. But it had never felt like an agreement. Her time with James had always felt unfiltered and effortless. Until recently.

And now, Hannah looked expectantly at James.

"We're together."

Hannah raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you would tell my parents?"

"Well, why not?" It was a dare rather than a question.

And it was not the answer Hannah had expected.

"Excuse me?" The shock must've been evident on Hannah's face because James actually got off his barstool so that he could grab the blonde's hand.

"I want to be very clear right now," said James. "Because I have a feeling I wasn't very clear last time we… spoke."

That's an understatement, Hannah thought. Their last meeting had ended with jinxes and hexes.

"I want to try this for real. And I know that you would be taking a huge risk on me, but if you can find a way to look past my risks and consider the possibility that we might really have something special, I'd be so happy Hannah. I was so unhappy without you this past week. I didn't have you waking me up to go out and fetch tea or you pulling the blankets away from me because somehow you're always cold. And I just want that...I...I want you."

"You certainly have a way with words," muttered Hannah stonily peeling her hand out of his.

In addition to being good for a laugh, Hannah knew James was good at persuasion. He didn't get his fancy PR job because he was a Potter. James had always been good at speaking, and Hannah knew it. She had also been deceived by his smooth lies more than once already, and she'd be damned if she was going to let him get inside her head again.

James looked desperate. "Hannah…"

"You should go, James. I think we're done here."

Hannah took the stool she'd been sitting upon and replaced it back on the bar. She headed towards the stairs that lead to the guest rooms. She knew there was always one empty room her mum kept for emergencies, and Hannah was too exhausted to disapparate. Being with James was exhausting.

"You can show yourself out," Hannah said without glancing back.


	6. Chapter 6

Oh shite.

Where am I?

What time is it?

Shite.

Lily rolled toward Mr. Curly Hair. He was still sleeping, and the gods smiled upon her sweetly. She couldn't make out the time from the small face clock perched on the bedside table, and she didn't have the nerve to shove her companion over and ask. The light streaming through the gauzy curtains told her enough. It was well past time to get moving.

Lily looked around the room. They certainly hadn't spared any expense last night, Lily thought as she took in the deep tones of the plush chairs and the stylized molding trimmed along the roof. They had most certainly made their way to the second bar- Lily's suggestion of course. She had practically shoved this handsome stranger out of the pub last night the moment he had expressed the slightest bit of interest. She remembered the second bar, but after that? Lily squeezed her eyes shut. Details! Why couldn't she remember the details? She had been told once that details were not her strong suit.

She growled at her traitorous mind. _Shut. Up._

Lily spotted her bra on the floor.

Where there was a bra, there would probably be…a ha! Lily snatched up the rest of her attire piece by piece, making sure to keep quiet as she put the garments back on. She would've loved to stay and use Mr. Curly's shower, but that was a sure way to wake him up, and also she didn't know how much longer this room would be available. With her luck, this guy had probably scheduled an early check out. Or maybe she scheduled an early check out? Had Lily paid for this room? Was it in poor taste to leave a hotel without first stopping to check that someone was paying the bill?

Oh, she could just imagine the glee in the Witch Weekly press room if they snagged a picture of her leaving a stranger's hotel room. Even better, in last night's cocktail dress. They'd probably be thrilled to finally have a lead that didn't involve James as their lead story. The idea made Lily ill.

Once her ensemble from last night had been fully reconstructed, and her wand was safely located, Lily checked the mirror one last time. She winced- her heavy pub makeup didn't have the same effect in the harsh sunlight of the morning. No, Lily thought, this is not the face of someone who can have a casual conversation with the front desk.

 _Chicken._

"Fuck off." Lily muttered to her conscience. The stranger tossed wordlessly among the starchy white hotel linens.

Lily clamped her mouth shut, and with one last look cast over her shoulder, she opened the door and headed home.

* * *

"I'm so proud of you, do you know that?"

Looking back, it was probably a mistake to immediately knock on her cousin's door before even cleaning off the dark mascara hoods under her eyes. But in this case, Lily was prioritizing information about who had been inside her rather than aesthetics. Roxy seemed positively giddy.

"You're the only person who would consider this an ideal outcome, do you know that?"

"I don't know. James also always seems to appreciate when people get a good shag."

Lily gagged. "Please stop."

"Okay, okay," Roxy said holding out her hands. "But Lily, be honest. Didn't it _feel_ good?"

Lily laid back in Roxy's bed, her mind trying to remember the details of everything that happened the night before after her and Mr. Curly Hair checked into their hotel room. She had a very vivid memory of his face, and his smile, and the way he casually touched her hip when they had been walking down Diagon Alley. But if she tried to latch on the details...things were foggier. She shivered.

"You're picturing it right now," Roxy accused.

"I'm not. I blacked out. I can barely remember anything. I don't even know his name. This is what you've turned me into."

"What's that?"

"A forgetful trollip."

"I don't think you forgot anything. If you were following my advice, you wouldn't have asked his name in the first place?"

Lily was aghast. "You gave me that advice?"

"It's a one night stand, darling."

"Barely. I doubt it counts if you can't even remember it."

"Well I'm guessing your body remembered it," Roxy joked, poking Lily's neck.

"Cow." Lily smacked her hand over the love bite she knew was spilling over her skin.

"I snogged Andrew last night you know," Roxy sing-sang as she poked her cousin again. Lily smacked away Roxy's hand. She should've know it would be a bloke that would cause this type of playful behavior in her cousin so early in the morning.

"You already told me that. Last night in the loo," Lily commented as she reached over to Roxy's nightstand and began idly fiddling with one of Roxy's fancy lotion bottles.

Roxy slapped away Lily's anxious fingers, and returned the potion back to its place. "Oh, so _that_ you remember." Here, Lily rolled her eyes. "You're mates with Hannah, yeah?"

Lily's ears peaked at the quick subject change. "As much as any of us are, I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"It was really strange. I saw her when Andrew and I were in the ally."

"She was there last night? She came? I didn't see her." Lily's thoughts tumbled out of her quickly as she tried to remember if she ever saw her blonde friend at any point in the night. After their conversation, Lily thought it might be a long shot that Hannah would come to the pub. What had changed her mind?

"Like I said, I saw her in the ally," Roxy continued. "Do you know if anything has happened between her and James?"

"James?" She choked out the name, as if tasting a new, bitter flavor. "James?"

Roxy laughed. "Yes. James Potter. They were having a row outside the pub."

"What?" Each fact more unbelievable than the next, Lily rubbed her palms against her eyes. Maybe she was still drunk. If Roxy had come to her with Al's name, Lily might've been more understanding. They were exes after all, so having a drunken spat didn't seem so bizarre considering those two had years of unresolved issues and built up tension. But James? James was a joker, and Hannah was a sweetheart. What the hell would they have to fight about?

"What the hell would they have to fight about?"

Roxy shrugged. "This could be crazy… but it almost looked like…"

"What?"

Roxy's eyes were wide, and Lily realized she had barked the question angrily.

Roxy hesitated. "…well it _almost_ looked as if they were having a lover's quarrel."

Lily scoffed. "I know James can be a prat, but even he wouldn't date Al's ex." Lily knew she and Roxy had their outlandish theories about various family members and their secret lives, but Merlin. This was going a bit too far beyond idle gossip for Lily's taste. James and Al's relationship had always been tense- never the most loving-est of brother's like their parents would have liked. Lily had acted as their buffer on more than a few occasions at Hogwarts. And then once they had all graduation, it was only ever family occasions that brought the two together. They were more like cousins than siblings. But Lily _knew_ James best. He was her big brother and protector, and he had stuck his neck out for Lily more than once. There were times when Lily knew James to be the most selfish person alive, but even _he_ wouldn't stoop that low. Hannah was off limits.

Roxy nodded. "You're right." She laughed. "Merlin, that would be awkward. Could you even imagine?"

"I'd rather not. Our family has enough problems. So, tell me what happened to Dominique?"

"Why would I know? You're supposed to be filling me in on details. She's sleeping on our couch right now. Looked passed out drunk when I came through."

"Poor girl," Roxy said. "She never did have much of a high tolerance. But I didn't bring her back here. Must've been Rose."

"That couldn't have been the sexy ending to Rose's night that she was planning," Lily said, a smile creeping onto her. "Dragging a drunk cousin home doesn't bode well when you're looking for privacy."

Roxy laughed. "We should go comfort her."

"Bring her a tea at least."

"At least. You go prepare a kettle and I'll grab some girly witch magazines. We'll spend the morning cheering her up!"

* * *

Rose went over the events of last night in her head repeatedly. How could someone still smell the same way they did from years ago? Did he still wash with the same soap? Maybe she could ask Al. Rose shut her eyes. He might have been with her now, if she would have been more forward. Merlin! She should have paid attention when Lily was blabbering on about how Scorpius wasn't very good at taking action, and if she had…

Rose groaned.

Maybe if she had paid more attention, Scorpius's hands would be looped with hers. And maybe he would squeeze her tighter to his side when she tried to get up. And maybe he would place a gentle kiss on her temple to wake her up. Rose looked at her knuckles, where only hours before Scorpius had kissed her goodbye. Rose knew he was trying to be a gentleman, but didn't he know she wanted him to stay? Didn't he know she wanted more than a polite kiss on the hand? Hadn't she conveyed that when she had suggested they go for a walk? What other reason is there to go for a walk past midnight on a Friday evening when you have had one too many drinks?

She groaned again.

Rose let her mind wonder back to their last year at Hogwarts. Most of her time spent at school had been dedicated to homework and revising, but as the end of year wore closer, Rose remembered her cousins had been successful in pulling Rose away from her studies. She attended more parties and trips to Hogsmeade that last year than she probably did her entire tenure at Hogwarts. It was no wonder looking back, that Scorpius and Rose spent as much time together as they did.

Rose hadn't outright lied to Lily when she had been discussing Scorpius. Lily had said it herself. They had _something._ But Rose hadn't been willing to divulge the truth about the details about their time together at Hogwarts. It felt too personal, too tucked away in her past, and too...something else. Rose sighed. She hadn't thought about those moments with Scorpius at Hogwarts in a long time.

And then there was Hogsmeade.

Rose turned her head and cursed into her pillow.

"Knock, knock! Hope everyone is decent!" Roxy tittered as she unceremoniously burst into Rose's room.

"It's just me," said Rose.

"Disappointed?" Roxy tossed her cousin a cheeky grin.

"How's Dominique?" Rose pointedly ignored her cousin.

"Oh, she's fantastic at picking magazines!" Roxy said, happily showing off the glossy covers she'd brought in with her. She plopped herself down on Rose's bed.

"I meant," Rose said slowly, "how is she feeling?'

"She still has a headache. Whatever she drank last night had serious side effects. Lily's checking to see if she can handle a pepper up potion, but I think she needs more sleep."

"Well, it wasn't just heavy drinking," Rose said. "Louis spiked her drink. Testing out more of your dad's prototypes if I were to guess."

Roxy scrunched up her nose. Rose knew Roxy hated anything involving the joke shopped that her dad and brother ran. Louis liked to poke around too, but he had a reputation for being more destructive than helpful. Growing up in a strict household of women, Louis didn't miss the opportunity to rough house much, and loved hanging around the boys at WWW.

"Dom is going to sleep for a few more hours," Lily announced, walking into the room balancing a tray of mugs. "I moved her to my room so she'd be more comfortable than on the sofa. Take a tea."

Roxy took the two steaming mugs Lily handed to her, and passed one to Rose.

"So, you're alone," Lily stated, looking at Rose. She sat down her tray on Rose's bedside table and sipped cautiously on her own hot mug.

"I'm never alone with you two around."

"You seemed to be getting along well with Scorpius last night," Roxy said. "You didn't talk to anyone else all night."

Even Roxy noticed that? Rose suddenly felt warm wondering how many of her other relatives sat in the pub watching her and Scorpius laugh and flirt and drink themselves under the table. She didn't think they had caused too much attention when they got up to leave…but then again even Dominique, loopy as she was, was able to seek out Rose. They couldn't have been that inconspicuous.

Oh Merlin, had everyone in their family watched them all night long? Was Albus giving Scorpius a hard time about it right now? Was _that_ the reason Scorpius had left after all?

 _You know I love your family, Rose._ Rose's stomach dropped. Her family. Her family? Oh god. Scorpius didn't leave because he was being a gentleman. He had left because the presence of her family members was making him uncomfortable. Had Dominique being in her flat sparked some kind of guilt inside him about dating Albus's cousin? That it was too close to the family? Rose took a long sip of her tea, trying and failing to slow down her thoughts. Further and further down the rabbit hole she fell as she ran over all the other things that had been said between the two of them. Lily had told her to be assertive and she asked him on a walk! Everyone knows what that means after midnight on a Friday! And she just threw myself at him like some dizzy Hogwarts girl with a bleeding crush. He was probably happy for an excuse to leave once Dominique was there. Oh Merlin.

"Ahh!" Rose yelled as the hot tea burned her lip.

"Merlin, Rose. Don't hurt yourself," chided Lily.

"Too late for that."

"Oh, bloody hell, will you look at that?" tutted Roxy as she held up Witch Weekly for her cousins to see. On the cover, in bold letters spelled out HEARTBREAKER with a picture of a smiling James from one of the most recent team press events. He was sitting next to a very pretty brunette in a very little skirt.

"That skirt does not look weather appropriate," Rose remarked, as she watched the pretty witch cross and uncross her legs.

"Even more so because their game was in Russia." Lily said. She took the magazine from Roxy's hand, and examined the cover. "He is such a twat. I'm glad our parents don't subscribe to any of these gossipy articles. Dad would have an absolute fit. I mean, this was at a press conference, for Merlin's sake! Do you know what my dad would do if he knew James was _posing_ for cameras?"

Rose nodded "I think we all have an idea." And she did. All their parents disliked the gossip media, but Harry and Ginny Potter went out of their way to avoid cameras and spotlight. They had made a point of raising James, Albus, and Lily in the muggle world, and had used their high ranked positions to enforce strict privacy laws to ensure their families would be able to grow up uninhibited by press invasion.

And now James was waving to the camera.

Lily threw the magazine at the wall. "What else do we have to look at?"

* * *

"And so she said she wanted to talk," Al said, recapping the night to Scorpius. The two had gathered in the kitchen to search for something to scrap together for breakfast.

Scorpius shut one of the cupboards and turned to face his friend full on. "It's a date?"

"It's a lunch," Al amended.

Scorpius nodded. "Is that what she said?"

"Well, yes. She was about to leave, and then she said she _wanted to catch up_ and get something to eat," Al said, making sure he emphasized the most important part of their interaction.

"It seems like every time you mention Hannah- and hear me out- it seems like you're always waiting for her to make the move. Have you ever considered just asking her out on a date?" Scorpius offered.

Albus got the impression his friend was trying to gently give him some difficult news, but he just didn't understand why. Albus thought everything he had told Scorpius was a great indication that things were only on track to get better. Scorpius just didn't understand. Why would he need to change his strategy now? Clearly, his strategy was working because he and Hannah were going to catch up. Scorpius and Rose were always giving him trouble, but they just didn't get it. They didn't understand what he and Hannah had.

"This is working," Albus said to put Scorpius's mind at ease. "She didn't have to come to the pub last night, you know."

"Yes, that's another thing," Scorpius said. "You said she went out of her way to come alone. And then she leaves after a few minutes?"

"Yes! Lily invited her to a family event. But I think the only reason she came at all was so she could have the opportunity to invite me out alone. She just didn't want to talk in a room full of Weasleys. It's completely understandable, and actually pretty adorable that she was nervous. She wants us to be alone. It's romantic, Scorpius."

"It just seems a little strange. She's been gone for so long, and all of sudden she's back in London and it seems like it was a quick move for her, and you have no idea what caused it? That doesn't seem a little odd to you?" Scorpius asked, trying to put the mental puzzle of Hannah Longbottom together in his mind.

Albus took a pause.

"Look, there's something I haven't told you about. Something I did."

Scorpius looked at his friend wearily.

"I wrote Hannah a letter. I posted it about 2 months ago. I didn't even know if I had the right address because she had just moved again and you know how unreliable international owls can be, and I didn't want to ask her parents for obvious reasons so I didn't know how reliable my sources were. Honestly, I was convinced she didn't even receive my letter. But then I heard she was coming back."

"And you wrote her a letter," Scorpius said, some of the puzzle starting to form.

"Right. I wrote her a letter, and I think by her coming back it signals that she is ready to do this. Otherwise I just…." Albus took a deep breath. A lump in his throat stopped his words. He fought through it. "I just need this. I need to try."

Scorpius swallowed his own words, and clapped Al on the shoulder. "You have to try."

Al nodded.

"One thing I don't understand though. Why didn't you and Hannah just leave together last night?"

"Well there was James…" Al trailed off.

"James?"

"Yes. Er…he sort of insisted he should walk Hannah home. You know how he can be."

Scorpius scratched his head. "I guess. You couldn't have walked her home instead?"

"Well…actually…I guess I suggested he walk her home," Al admitted, feeling flush.

Scorpius laughed. "You really do know how to make it hard for yourself, don't you?"

* * *

Hannah fingered the letter from James. She had read it several times, and yet she scanned the past sentence over and over like as if that could help her untwist the knots in her stomach.

 _I just want to talk. Please Hannah._

"Is something wrong?"

Hannah immediately stuffed James's letter in her back pocket.

"Mum! I didn't hear you come in."

"Yes, I noticed," Mrs. Longbottom said, a frown creasing her forehead. "You know, darling, when you told your father and I that you were planning on coming back to England, we were of course thrilled! But, I did wonder…and now I'm afraid I am still wondering if perhaps there was more to your decision than homesickness?"

Hannah grabbed a rag and began wiping down the bar so she could have a reason to look at something besides her worried mum. She shook her head, and let out a high-pitched laugh. "What on earth would make you say that? Don't I seem happy to be home?"

"Well, you seem a bit distracted," Mrs. Longbottom admitted.

"How so?"

"For one thing, I've asked you to clean the glasses twice already today. But it's not just today. You've been forgetting all sorts of tasks. And even burned yourself! You're fantastic at cooking spells- how you managed a burn! Honestly, I never would have believed had I not been there to see it myself. It's just not like you to be so… disconnected."

Hannah stopped wiping up the imaginary spots on the bar, and looked at her mum. "I'm sorry about all that. Perhaps I'm just not quite used to being back in England yet. I'll try extra hard to get my head on straight," Hannah promised with a smile. "I'm actually going to have lunch with Albie next week, so maybe he can knock some sense into me."

Mrs. Longbottom smiled at her namesake. "Did you enjoy your night out with the Weasleys?"

James's face smacked into Hannah's mind. "Yes, they're never boring."

Mrs. Longbottom brushed a lock of her daughter's blonde hair behind her ear as she considered her face, a face so very similar to her husband's. "Be kind to Albus."

Hannah laughed at the silly statement. "Mum, I'm always kind."

Mrs. Longbottom's eyes flicked to the letter Hannah had been reading just moments before. Hannah's heartbeat peaked and then steadied. There was no way she could know what the letter had said; the owl had delivered it directly to her. Plus, James hadn't even signed it. "Darling, you are a very easy girl to love." And Mrs. Longbottom leaned forward and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Have a good lunch."


	7. Chapter 7

The wind was like a soft kiss against the lingering heat. Hannah leaned back against Al's chest. His arms came around her stomach to play with the threads on the bottom of her uniform shirt. She nestled between his legs and sighed. The clouds passed over the grounds and one by one, Hannah pointed to them and whispered to her boyfriend what she believed they most resembled. For every cloud, he pressed a sweet kiss to the back of her neck and pressed his face deeper into Hannah's shoulder.

"Summer really is the best month," Hannah said happily. She was blissed-out on sun and kisses. This would probably be the last properly hot weekend they would have at Hogwarts before fall descended with a fury and swept over the lake, forcing the student inside by the fires.

"You think? I've always preferred the Spring." Albus said, sweeping Hannah's curls over her shoulder.

"Spring is lovely. But so temperamental. Is it hot or cold? Who knows? But summer! Even the word itself gives me goosebumps. Look!" Hannah held out her arm to study. "And is there really anything better than having a constant barrage of sunlight and warmth? I'll never get tired of it."

Behind her, Hannah felt Al's face scrunch. "Sure. But everything is in bloom in Spring. And it's the payoff season. The calm after the storm. You've just spent this long winter inside and suddenly everything comes to life. It's the seasonal equivalent of a phoenix. Life begins anew"

Hannah closed her eyes and smiled up at the sun. "Hmm, you're such a poet. But no, I'll never get tired of this feeling. I'm a summer lover. Give me warm nights and hot days, and I'll be happy forever."

"Well, it doesn't matter. I don't want to fight about it."

Hannah snapped her eyes open at the tone in Al's voice. She turned herself in his arms. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Hannah." The sharpness of his voice curved into weariness when he said her name. "I just don't want to fight."

"We're not fighting," Hannah said with a laugh, though the sound came off hollower than the carefree she had been aiming for. "We just prefer 2 different seasons. I don't understand why you're upset."

Al was not laughing. "Seriously, Hannah, we don't have to keep talking about it." Why did he keep saying her name in that dejected tone? There was something heavy about it. The tone of misunderstanding and heartache. "I've already told you I prefer Spring."

Hannah shook her head, still not quite understanding how this conversation had morphed so completely. "Are you mad at me?"

"No. Why? Do you really want to keep talking about this? Because I don't want to fight with you."

Hannah opened her mouth, and then closed it and turned back around.

She was drenched in sweat. She stretched her eyes as far as they would open- hoping the darkness in the bedroom would disappear by sheer will alone. It was so dark. And her hands were so hot. She reached her right hand straight out to her side and pressed it firmly against the cool plaster of the bedroom wall. The smooth surface was an anchor bringing her back from the heavy weight of her dream.

But that wasn't really a dream. Those words _had_ been exchanged. That moment _had_ happened. Hannah sat up and pressed both hands against her wall- a woman bracing herself against a memory that she had long since forgotten. Maybe if she pressed hard enough against the cool stone, she could shove away the numb guilt that now seemed to be descending onto shoulders.

Thief.

She had stolen those years at Hogwarts. They belonged to someone else entirely, and Hannah had wrapped them up and sealed them with a pretty kiss at her Hogwarts graduation. The heat returned to the base of her neck. No, no, no. She couldn't go back to that moment. She couldn't think about all she had taken from him.

Coward.

"Ohh." Hannah let out a soft yowl of unhappiness as she released the wall and collapsed back against her pillows. "Don't think about it. Don't think about it." That was her mantra. The lullaby she sang to induce sleep. The prayer she murmured before bed. "Don't think about it."

Did Albus have the same mantra? She used to wonder about that when she first moved overseas. She wondered if it was easier or harder to forget their history when you were surrounded by your childhood friends. But no... clearly Hannah's current sate was proof enough that the best way to forget your past was to distance yourself from the memories. Would she have even wound up in James's arms if they hadn't of been in that pub in Germany the same night? Hannah would've been completely charmed by the way small coincidences seemed to be responsible for her life if it wasn't the fact that she was feeling repulsed by anything charming at the moment.

How had she ended up here?

James versus Albus

Hannah turned over and put her head under her pillow. She was sickened because it wasn't really a contest. It wasn't James versus Albus. There would never be a long drawn-out battle to win her affections. She would never be able to make a pro and con list to battle with her conscious. She would not need to sit at her vanity like a dopey girl in a book staring between a picture of James and Albus. She knew the winner. The champ. The better man. Her chosen one.

There had never been a question.

And that was the worst part of all of it.

* * *

Lily yawned.

"If you're going to yawn, you might as well go home," Lily's patient, Mrs. Clark snapped, "I don't want to win simply because my opponent isn't focusing"

Lily smirked down at the wizard's chess board that had been set up on Mrs. Clark's hospital bed. Truth be told, she was exhausted, and even with Mrs. Clark's dismissal Lily knew it would be at least 2 more hours before she would really get to go home to her flat. Even with the lateness of the hour, Lily was happy to indulge in her favorite patient's whims.

"I was never very good at wizard's chess," Lily shrugged as she made her move.

"Never too late to learn a new skill," Mrs. Clark said brassily as Lily watched one of her pieces get whacked off the board. "So, tell me how the new hair has fared?"

"Oh…I don't know," Lily sighed, twirling a piece in her fingers. "If I'm being honest I guess I did it to change the direction of my life."

"And has it worked?"

Lily thought about it. She had received a promotion to Healer, but that was hardly thanks to the hair. Is having a one night considered a life changing event? Lily didn't think Mrs. Clark would give that one to her.

"No."

"Well then perhaps it was never about the hair." Mrs. Clark lower her head to stare at Lily over her bifocals. "You clock an awful lot of hours at this hospital. I hope it's time well spent."

"It's my job. Healers all work long hours."

"Don't lie to me."

The door opened, "Hi Mrs. Clark, sorry to disturb, oh…."

Both Lily and Mrs. Clark turned towards the door and the newcomer who walked through. Lily's heart dropped to her stomach.

"Young man, it's the middle of the night. In what universe, would it be considered good manners to barge into an old woman's room without knocking? Are we under attack? Is there a fire? I am so interested to hear your explanation to what could possibly be so important right now that you could not even wait 1 minute and instead interrupted my conversation with my Healer."

Lily locked eyes with the man. Then she shifted her gaze to his hair. Curly.

He looked equally as shocked to see Lily in front of him sitting on Mrs. Clark's bed in green Healer's robes. Lily quickly took in his appearance as her patient ranted. He wore Assistant Healer Robes. And he carried a chart and a vial of potion that looked freshly brewed.

Mr. Curly Hair switched his eyes to Mrs. Clark. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, what a wordsmith you are," Mrs. Clark snapped. "Tell me what you want or get out."

"I need you to take this potion." Mr. Curly Hair stepped forward and showed her the potion he was holding. I'm on night duty and I was going through patient charts to get acquainted with records at the hospital and I noticed you didn't get your Goxydose today-."

"What?" interrupted Lily, snatching Mrs. Clark's chart off the bed. She would've noticed if the potion had never been delivered. But sure enough when she got to the checklist of potion delivery, it looked like the box for Goxydose had not been checked. And Lily hadn't noticed. She had even sat and played Wizard's Chess with Mrs. Clark for the last hour and hadn't even noticed. What a bloody failure.

"Well, don't just stand there. Give it to me," Mrs. Clark snapped.

The Assistant Healer rushed forward the handed Mrs. Clark the vial, and the old woman downed the potion in one large gulp. She shoved the empty vial back into his hands and shooed him away. "You may leave."

Mr. Curly hair looked to Lily. "I- "

"Thanks. Goodnight."

He was confused, Lily could tell, but this was hardly the time or place to have a catch up about the last time they'd seen each other. After all, the last time they were together Lily had sneaked out of his hotel room. He was an American with a hotel room. She had figured he was on holiday.

"So now you've almost killed me."

"Mrs. Clark," Lily sighed as the heavy hospital door smacked shut with the stranger on the other side. She didn't blame him for leaving. Merlin, and she thought the late shift would be boring...

"Will you please stop working so much now? You're one of the few Healers I like, Potter. I don't want you to kill any more patients."

"Mrs. Clark, you were never in any danger. That potion prevents bloating and gas."

"And that boy? You have history?"

"What would possibly make you say that?"

"I don't have to be a seer to know when a man looks at a woman like that it means something."

Lily snapped Mrs. Clark's clipboard shut and hung it back on the end of her bed. "I'm going to go check in on the other less difficult patients." She looked pointedly at Mrs. Clark, who crossed her arms.

"He's not bad on the eyes," Mrs. Clark called, as Lily pushed open the door to the hallway.

"Hey."

"Merlin!" Lily shrieked, her hand smacking to her chest in terror as her neck snapped to the sound of the deep voice.

Mr. Curly Hair had obviously decided to wait in the hallway instead of returning to his floor. He didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed, Lily noticed. Lurking in the hallway in the middle of the night making someone scream was a reason to be mortified in Lily's experience, and even more so after she considered their history together…. Lily felt a blush crawl up her neck. Their history together was not something she wanted to address. She watched him through narrowed eyes, shutting _that_ memory from her mind.

"Hi," he said once more.

"You work here." It was a statement, more than a question. She had no time to answer pointless questions and dodgy answers. She didn't wait for his response, and instead turned and began to walk in the other direction. If he really wanted to talk, he would follow. And sure enough, she heard his quick footsteps echoing on the St. Mungo's tiles trying to keep stride with Lily's pace.

"Trainee Exchange Program," he said as if that answered anything, "I'm only here temporarily doing grant work, and then I switch back with the trainee who was in my place."

"Back home?" The question was out of Lily's mouth before she had even realized it. Despite herself, she _was_ interested.

"My base training is in America, but Mungo's wanted someone from our hospital to deliver our research and findings, and then learn advantages gathered from experiments conducted here. Obviously, it's grunt work, and I'm not exactly highest wizard on the command chain so here I am."

They arrived at the lifts, and Lily pressed the up button.

"I would've told you this, you know. Had you stayed," he added.

Despite herself, Lily's checks flushed as the lift chimed and the empty compartment opened. She stepped inside. "It's not something we should talk about at work."

"Wait," Mr. Curly Hair said suddenly, as he propped a foot inside the lift carriage to keep it from closing. "You've never told me your name." And it was at that second as Lily was processing his words that she felt a dip of disappointment as she realized Curly wouldn't be getting in the lift with her.

Lily paused. "Does it really matter?" she asked.

Mr. Curly smiled. "Yes, it matters. I think we've had quite a connection here. I'm going to go home and tell all my friends about the beautiful, smart Healer I met, and they'll ask me your name and I'll have nothing to say."

Lily bit her lip. "You couldn't just make up a name in this scenario?"

"I would know it wasn't real."

" _You_ still haven't even told me your name, you know."

Mr. Curly Hair looked shocked at her words. She saw the comprehension dawn over his face as he realized that he indeed hadn't done the very thing he had been asking of her. "Jeremy," he said as a wide grin stretched across his face. The doors of the lift shuddered, but Jeremy held his ground.

Jeremy. Lily decided she liked that better than Mr. Curly hair.

Lily laughed, the absurdity of calling this man Mr. Curly finally catching up with her. Jeremy smiled, as if he was in on the joke.

"I need to go. There's another patient on this floor I should speak with. Can I see you again?"

Mrs. Clark's face slammed full force into Lily's mind.

"Sure."

* * *

"Knock, knock."

"Why not just knock?" Rose asked, looking up from her desk to the smiley witch who stood at the door. "What's the point in saying it? Isn't it a bit redundant?"

Deelia dropped a pile of unopened letters onto Rose's in-tray. "Why so grumpy?"

Rose took a long-suffering breath. "This office is too small." Deelia laughed.

"Try again, Rose."

"I don't even know how to explain it." Rose leaned back in her chain and gestured with her quill up at the ceiling with a flourish. "I feel like I'm waiting for something. Like I'm anxious for something to happen, even though I have no idea what it is." Rose shook her head. She knew her words were ineloquent and ineffectual. They didn't do her feelings justice, but she persisted. "There's some kind of bubble in my chest, Dee. And I just...the more I have to sit here and bid my time with status reports, the more this bubble in my chest keeps pounding." She looked imploringly at Deelia.

"Does that make any sense?"

"I think it might not be a bad idea to take a vacation."

Rose sighed. "Sure, yes. You're probably right."

"Give a shout if you need a hand finishing the expense reports before lunch!" Deelia called as she swept out of the office and down the hall. Probably on her way to deliver more sage one-liner pieces of wisdom to the other ministry workers. Take a vacation, and all your problems will be solved! Thanks for that scholar-worthy diagnosis, Dee.

"Knock knock."

Rose spun around in her chair, her lips already pursed to shout about the expense reports to whoever it was now that wanted to chit chat. She didn't need another vacation diagnosis, dammit!

"I um..." Scorpius scratched the back of his head. Rose blinked. Then blinked again. "Hi."

"Oh." Rose could practically see her own vicious expression mirror in Scorpius's cowardly face. Feeling flushed, she pushed her hair out of her face and try to smooth over her expression. _Think happy thoughts. Think about calm things. Sea shells. Violets. Pumpkin. Sand. You don't need to be a bitch boss lady when Scorpius Malfoy is standing in front of you wearing jeans._ Rose's stomach gave a light tug. She had always been such a sucker for a pureblood wearing Muggle clothes.

"You left something at the flat."

He held out his hand, and Rose stared at the bronze watched that now lay in a neat shiny clump.

"I left a man's watch behind?"

"Well, I figured it could be unisex."

She didn't trust herself to take it from him. Was brushing skin considered too forward? Would that chase him away from her office? Rose held out her hand.

Scorpius placed the watch onto Rose's pale palm with a resounding clang of metal folding on itself. Rose flipped over the piece. "My watch with the inscription of 'Albus'?"

"Huh." Scorpius grinned. "It might be best to admit I lied."

"Oh?" Rose bit the inside of her check.

"I wanted to stop by."

He made that look easy, Rose thought as she deposited her cousins watched on her desk. She wished she could walk into offices and make a proclamation with such ease. Hell, his hands weren't even in his pockets. Hadn't that been his tell at Hogwarts? He always had his hands in his pockets at Hogwarts. And now he stood in front of her with both hands free looking gorgeous and carefree and saying things that made her want him even more than she already did.

"I'm glad you did."

"Yeah?" Scorpius leaned against the door frame. Had he switched from hands-in-pockets to door leaning now that he was older? Rose made a mental note to investigate this further.

"Yeah."

"How are you?"

"Better than Dominique."

Scorpius grinned. "Who knew Rose Weasley was the one who could drink everyone under the table?"

"It's certainly a change since Hogwarts, I'll give you that."

"You know, I've been thinking about Hogwarts more and more lately."

Rose swallowed. "Oh?"

Scorpius nodded.

Rose stood up and shoved Scorpius to the side of her small office so she could get a grip on her door, and then closed in with a sharp snick.

"Media like to hang around here sometimes," she muttered by way of explanation. "They would just love to hear about my wild Hogwarts days."

"Well you _were_ out of control."

Rose laughed. "Don't even bother lying again."

"Rose Weasley: Hogwarts Wild Child." Scorpius framed the headline in his hands.

"Oh yes, me and McGonagall burning the midnight oil. Class by day, library by night. Very exciting."

"Sometimes the library was exciting."

Rose let out a short breath. They had been in the library together so many times. It was inevitable really, when you were both over preforming students to run into each other. And the fact that Scorpius's best friend was Rose's cousin certainly helped increase their time spent together. But somehow Rose didn't think Scorpius was talking about the times they spent revising Potions essays. No, she never would've considered those times to be particularly exciting. She opened her lips to speak.

And then closed them.

The words may have come easier to Scorpius, but Rose didn't have such luck. The right words seemed to be stuck in her throat, just bubbling beneath the surface. The thoughts were there, but the articulation was lost in the space between her mind and her mouth. She looked to him for the sign. Maybe if he said more, if he continued to talk about that night at the library, it could possibly give her the courage to continue.

Scorpius cleared his throat. "Do you ever..." He trailed off.

But that was all she needed.

"I think about it. The library. Hogsmeade."

Scorpius swallowed. "I work tonight."

 _Why did you have to mention Hogsmeade? He's already making up excuses to get away from you._

 _"_ And after you're done working?" Rose blocked out her mental dialogue and spit out the words before her confidence could slip.

"It will be midnight."

Rose hummed. "Some people say I'm a night owl."

"You and McGonagall, so I hear."

Rose grinned. She tore her gaze away from Scorpius's beautiful blue eyes and instead grabbed her quill to scribble a note. "I have a muggle phone. But I doubt you would be able to reach it. So, this is where you can send mail."

"Can't I just send a standard owl?"

"If you give an owl my name, your letter will be read by my mum's Ministry Auror Detail." Scorpius looked shocked. Most people are when they hear about the extra security. "This address." Rose held up the note. "Is a personal one I created a few years back to work around the system. The owls will only go to me."

"Because you have experience sending lots of secretive correspondence?"

"Because sometimes I choose to do things that I don't need my family knowing about."

Scorpius nodded. But the joke didn't seem to land. Instead, Scorpius just looked anxious. He tucked his hands into his pockets, and then just as quickly removed them. Rose stood up from her desk and, decided to risk a brush of skin. She took the note and tucked it away into his hand. Scorpius nodded his thanks. He unfolded the paper and then refolded it immediately. "I should probably go."

"Oh." Rose nodded, trying not to let any expression show on her face. If he was going to play the expressionless face, she could do it too. "Sure, absolutely." She tossed him a smile and gestured at his hand.

"You know how to find me."


	8. Chapter 8

"Just so that we're clear, this isn't a date."

"Is that your way of telling me you're willing to split the bill?" Jeremy asked, taking a sip of his wine.

They were in Muggle London by Lily's insistence. She didn't like to be recognized on a normal day, and she certainly didn't need to run into to any family and friends on a non-date with her co-worker with whom she had slept with a few nights prior. No thank you.

Lily curled a strand of her dark hair around her finger. And then let it drop. Fingering her hair was something silly girls did when they were trying to seem cute in front of the boys they were dating. She didn't need to use those teenage tricks to seem casually interested because this was not a date. Yes, she had put on lipstick, but that was only because the last time he had seen her she had been working an extended overnight shift in her Healer robes. And the time before that, she had woken up to smudged mascara and bruised lips the morning after their hotel romp. So, yes, she had put on lipstick. But that didn't mean this was a date.

"So, you're a fan of Muggle London?"

She dropped her head to her knuckles, weighing his question. Lily was no fool. She knew anti-muggle sentiments still existed in today's post war society. There were some wizards who might find it uncomfortable to sit through a meal in muggle London, and beneath them to make casual conversation with a non-magical waiter. Some wizards can conceal those prejudices in the security of the magical world, but her parents had taught her and her brothers from a young age that the moment you take a person outside their comfort zone, people's true colors show through the mask.

Lily checked her thoughts. Fred liked to joke that her parents went into hiding as muggles after the war. It was his way of reminding them that Harry and Ginny were often a little too extreme in their constant vigilance and protection of their little family. Lily had often written him off, thinking his remarks were yet another example of the many reason Fred was a callous twat. But now, as Lily sat with her non-date watching his every gaze and waiting for him to make a snide remark, she wondered if maybe she Fred's jokes didn't hold just a bit of truth as well.

"I am," she said with a nod. She paused as their waiter approached with Lily's glass of wine.

"Thank you," Jeremy said to the waiter and then turned his attention back to Lily. "You know my parents are actually English. They fought in the war."

"What?" Lily asked, mentally trying to work the numbers in her head. "You're not English."

" _I'm_ not. After Voldemort fell, my parents feared there could be a resurgence with the death eaters who had supported his reign. My dad is a muggleborn, and my wanted to start a family. They were afraid, and so they moved overseas." Lily was suddenly very glad they were in Muggle London at his words. Although it had been over 20 years, there were many witches and wizards in England who had personal experience with Voldemort who still to this day flinched at the mention of the Dark Lord's name no matter how much Harry Potter told them not to have any fear. How different, she realized, must life in other countries much be when you are not personally affected by such tragedy day in and day out.

"I think Harry Potter would have protected us against any resurgence," Lily bit back.

"Oh, _I_ agree with you," he said, looking quite flushed. "It is a testament to Auror Potter's work that I am even here at all."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, my parents are both high ranking officials in the International Magical Cooperation program in America. They both were able to recommend me as the Mungo's liaison. I sincerely doubt my parents would have been jumping at the opportunity to send me back to the country they abandoned in fear had they not had absolute confidence in the government Mr. Potter helped resurrect."

"How is it that they fought? Why not leave before the Battle of Hogwarts and save themselves the misery of seeing any destruction at all?" Lily could hear the bitterness in her question. She rearranged the features in her face to come off as less accusatory and more curious.

Jeremy swirled his wine and considered her question.

"They did not fight at the battle of Hogwarts."

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"They were in Hogsmeade when the attack came. My mum was hexed by my aunt who was put under the imperious curse. She couldn't do anything after my aunt attacked. But my dad did. He watched as people around him were disarmed one after another. There were so many left helpless without the protection of a wand. He did everything to save those people. They couldn't keep the Death Eaters away. That was the day the street fell over completely to his side. But my parents had stood tall and helped dozens of defenseless."

He was proud as he spoke, that much Lily could tell. This wasn't the first time he had told this story. Perhaps, she wasn't the first one to question why his parents had left so quickly after Voldemort fell. She had heard battle stories in the speeches of victories that were extolled at ministry events and gala functions. But this one felt personal. It had been so long since she had heard someone recall such vivid personal details from her parent's war. Harry, Hermione, and Ron didn't like to speak about it. And only her mum would mention things in passing with a brief ending note of "don't mention this to your father, it upsets him".

"You should be proud of them," Lily said, not wishing to add more detail about her own parent's achievements.

Jeremy nodded. "I am. But I wasn't lying before. Minister Weasley and Auror Potter have really made England the haven it is today."

Lily nodded, unable to form the right words to agree. Nothing seemed to do them justice. Aunt Hermione and her dad were very good at their jobs. That much was true.

"Believe me, there's no shortage of English pride in our house. Actually, my younger sister is a proper Potter fangirl."

Lily felt her insides pull. Were there any worse words than those? Images of strangers reaching for her with one hand and an autograph pen in the other surged through her mind. Merlin, how many times had she rejected Witch Weekly request for an interview about how she juggled work and dating? Was there anything worse than the word 'fan'? Her gut instinct had always been defensive. She felt her nose scrunch up at the thought of all the past potter fans she had encountered.

"She's such a Holyhead fan, it should be criminal. She knows all the statistics, and even plans to travel here to try out for the team when she's old enough. She's even written several letters to the players, although I don't know if they've ever reached-"

"Wait," Lily said, as all thoughts of her father left her head. "Your sister is a fan of Ginny Potter?"

Jeremy nodded. "She has her old poster on her bedroom wall. She's even tried to be both a seeker and a chaser on her school team because 'that's what Ginny did'. Nearly killed herself in the process. My mum was _not_ a fan of Ginny Potter after that hospital trip. Banned all mentions of her from the house for nearly a month, I swear. But my sister is a proper fan. She was never old enough to see her play of course, but she has recordings of all the best matches."

Lily laughed. "How old is she?"

"Ginny Potter? I have no idea. She's still pretty fit though."

Lily kicked him. Jeremy smiled and nudged her foot slightly. Lily pulled her feet under her own chair, not wanting to engage in a game of footsie, especially since Jeremy had just called her mum fit. And rubbing feet was definitely not a platonic activity.

"She's 15," Jeremy answered. Lily could hear the protection in his voice.

"My brothers were protective of me when I was 15 too," Lily said casually.

"You have brothers? Should I be worried?"

"We're not on a date, so no."

"I don't know why you keep denying the obvious."

"How old are you?"

The question had jumped out of her mouth before she could stop it. His parents fought in the war. Assuming they were adults at the time, which would mean they were older than Lily's parents, and yet he looked so young. He never even went to Hogwarts, so there was no one from whom she might be able to seek out information about his year.

"I thought this wasn't a date."

"It's not. Why? Is it a common subject for your girlfriends to inquire about your age on a first date?"

"I can see where this is going," Jeremy said leaning forward. "You want to make sure our future relationship is age-appropriate." Lily scoffed. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Fine. Don't tell me." Lily crossed her arms. "I have access to all staff files, so it won't be too hard to figure out on my own anyway.

"I won't," Jeremy said with a smile.

"Are you trying to make yourself more interesting?"

"Is it working?"

Lily turned her head, unwilling to let him see her flash of teeth. "Finish that up." He gestured to her glass of wine. "And we'll start to head out."

"Where are we going?"

"Well since this isn't a date, I don't think I'm going to tell you. That information is only privileged to girlfriends."

Lily rolled her eyes. "That sounds like something a boyfriend would say."

"Well clearly you've never been on a date with me."

"Clearly."

* * *

"You must have more important things to do than watch an old man grade papers."

Hannah smiled at her father. She sat in one of his comfy leather chairs that decorated his private quarters all the Professors kept at Hogwarts. Although she knew it was unlikely her dad would have much free time now that they were well into the term, it never seemed to make much of a difference. She would happily sit in his office day or night and read as long as his calm, steadying presence was right there next to here.

Her father had always been something of pillar in the community. She had been able to sense this even as a small child. Hannah had always been quiet and kept her ears open. While other people spoke of Harry Potter and the Golden trio with awe, she was the one who noticed when the very famous Mr. Potter spoke about her dad with reverence. Certainly, she knew Neville Longbottom was a hero. But to see that confirmed in the actions and words of Harry, Ron, and Hermione was something that still filled Hannah with a glow of pride.

Hannah put a marker in her book and leaned back against the pillow-y softness of her father's chair. "You know I don't mind. I love Hogwarts."

"Do you?" Mr. Longbottom asked. He looked out one his windows which overlooked the shadowy forest. "I suppose there is something about it. Perhaps you should consider a teaching post."

She laughed. "And what could I possibly have to teach anyone?"

"You have such little faith in your skills? I find that impossible coming from the young lady who became an international ambassador without asking for any assistance from my connections."

She shrugged, not interested in talking about her job. "You're the professor in the family. Mum and I are merely your humble servants."

Mr. Longbottom looked back down at his papers. "Was there any particular reason you decided to visit me today?"

Hannah shrugged. "Can't a girl just visit her dad with no ulterior motives?"

"Well certainly, but..." he hesitated, "Your mum seems to believe you may be a bit distracted. I'm just wondering if there's any burden you would like to unload?"

It shouldn't have surprised her really. Her father was much too kind considering the life he had seen. Nothing had defeated him yet, and she had a strong suspicion, that even in 40 or 50 more years, nothing ever would. And for that, Hannah could not have been more proud. He was her hero. People lived their entire lives without knowing a man as kind as Neville Longbottom, and somehow Hannah has been blessed with him as a father. Some gifts really were given to the unworthy.

"Everything is good," Hannah assured him.

"Good? But not perfect?"

Hannah wondered where James was now. If she had been in her flat, she could probably find one of his unanswered letters and figure it out herself. But she had been avoiding her flat, and so the letters she knew were waiting for her had been left unopened and unanswered. Was she ready to face James again? She knew the answer to that question. He was persistent, but she had always known that. What was persistence however if he wasn't willing to fight? She would have risked the fall. No- back in Germany she would have dived off that cliff head first for him. She had been ready.

"Good, but not perfect," she agreed. Her father nodded.

"Any new boys?"

"Dad."

"I can prod a little, can't I? Your mum told me you've arranged a meeting with Albus Potter." It wasn't a question, but she answered him anyway.

"Yes, a nice lunch with friends is always a good thing, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh quite. Although with Albus...forgive me sweetheart, but it must be my age. You know how old men can get. I don't think I remember exactly why you two split. Was it something dramatic?"

"No." She spoke quietly. "Nothing dramatic."

It had been here, Hannah knew. She had been in these very castle walls years ago when she and Albus had sat together and had the conversation she had been planning and dreading for so long. She knew her dad's prying questions were asked out of concern. But Hannah had purposefully not disclosed details of her breakup to anyone. It had been too difficult to share. The words she shared with Al had been too personal and too precious to sully with common room gossip. Even after all these years, if was still difficult to relive the moments of her breakup. Those tough thoughts were something that Hannah had tried to suppress for a long time, and had kept her awake even when she had lived overseas. She carried those memories- his expression, his tone, the way his hands fidgeted- with her still. And so no, she didn't disclose personal details with her family and friends. Hannah knew that bottling up her emotions might be causing more tension to an already rocky relationship, but if that was the case Hannah would endure the strain. It was her penance.

 _Hannah had a bottle all to herself._

 _The laughter and cheers of the 7th years spilled out onto the dark Hogsmeade high street. They had finished Hogwarts and graduation was the next morning, so they crept out of the castle to drink, celebrate and spend their final days drunk under the Hogsmeade stars._

 _Hannah had been invited even though she was a younger student. Her boyfriend, Al was probably in the pub laughing with his cousins, and enjoying the last night before their big send-off. She had accepted the drink shoved into her hand, but the bar had begun to fill up faster than Hannah had anticipated and suddenly she found her feet and her anxiety carrying herself outside into the warm night. The windows of the three Broomsticks were thrown wide open, and Hannah could glance the faces of Hufflepuffs and Slyherins alike clinking bottles and trading stories. She smiled sadly._

 _Her heart wasn't in the celebration tonight._

 _She hoped Albus wouldn't come looking for her. She began to walk towards the passage she knew would lead back to the castle. Suddenly grateful for the alcohol, she took a long swig. Her eyes stung. Not butterbeer. She supposed that was ok. Butterbeer should be reserved for sweet moments nestled in fall Hogsmeade weekends when classes became too hard and breaks were a welcome distraction. This was not something Hannah welcomed._

 _Albus loved Butterbeer._

 _She took another swig._

 _Albus was the perfect boyfriend. Hannah had never thought it was necessary to list out the pros and cons of things in her life, but she knew that if she had ever taken the time to craft a silly list about Albus, he would have a large swell of pros. He was so tentative, and thoughtful. He listened to her thoughts, and even better he asked her opinions. He took notice of the things that mattered to her and made an effort to surprise her when he knew she'd appreciate it. She had never had to wonder about Albus. If there was a Hogsmeade weekend, he asked her. If there was a chance of rain, he was there to cast a charm to keep her dry. She never had to question his intentions. Albus Potter's heart was pure._

 _Hannah was disgusted with herself. There must be a flaw in her personality. She should be back in the Three Broomsticks with her boyfriend. She knew he was probably at this very moment looking around the crowded pub searching for her. He always had a sense about knowing when she was the least bit uncomfortable._

 _She should go back right now. It would be so easy. She could turn around and walk right back to the pub. He probably wouldn't have even noticed she was gone at all. He wouldn't question her. He would've just chalked up her absence to the size of the crowd. Without a word, he would've opened his arms, and she could have snuggled herself against his chest. He would smile and kiss her easily. "You're beautiful," he would say. She'd just laugh and shake her head at him._

 _But Hannah was not at the Three Broomsticks. She did not turn around._

 _The cellar of Honeydukes was easy to access- it wasn't the first time she had to break into the store after hours, and she knew the right way to trick the magic of the store without setting off any alarms. Albus and Scorpius had showed her how to do it, and James had showed them. As Hannah slipped down the passage, she wondered briefly if Al would continue the family tradition and show little Lily the trick as well. Probably, she thought, Albus was too nice to keep any information like that to himself. He was so selfless._

 _She was the terrible one. She had been living with such guilt when it came to Albus. It was difficult to be around him at all anymore. Every time she looked at his face, all she saw was...an imperfect fit._

 _Hannah trusted her gut. Perhaps it was a weak mentality to make her decisions on a bit of intuition that she could barely describe but for the past month, Albus had been happily talking about the real world. And his future. And becoming an auror. And every time Hannah tried to piece herself into that future Albus painted, she came up empty. She tried many times. There were lots of different scenarios that came to mind. Wife, partner, career women, coming home to Al, having Al's children, laughing with Al, crying with Al, fighting with Al. Al made it easy to imagine each and every one. He talked with such vigor and un-tampered emotion that it was easy to see the picture he painted. And every time he spoke about his vision Hannah felt..._

 _...nothing._

 _No passion. No desire. No anticipation. No spark. No longing. No drive. No love._

 _Normal girls would cry, she thought. Any other girl in this same scenario would feel the dreadfulness of the situation and have the pain tear away at her until there was nothing left to do but sob about the boy you can't love. But no, this heart will remain closed. And the tears will not fall._

 _Hannah sunk to the ground. Halfway between Hogsmeade and the castle, it seemed like the perfect metaphor for her current existence. She was on a ledge, not fully committed to the fall nor the safety of the turning back. She knew what they said about her. Lovely Hannah. Wonderful Hannah. Have you met her parents- darling people, no wonder they raised such a sweet girl. Need a tutor? Darling Hannah will help you. Loved by all, even the Slytherins. "That will go on your tombstone," Albus had said one day when Slughorn made the joke in class. Hannah knew the truth- what none of them had been able to see. She wasn't beloved by all because of some bullshit story about a pure heart. She could relate to those with dark secrets and half-truths. She didn't force a false narrative onto anyone - even the Slytherins - because she knew the burden of carrying the weight around herself._

* * *

"You summoned me?"

"You look tired."

"Mum, honestly."

Rose closed the door to her mother's office. She had stayed up rather late waiting for an owl that had never appeared, not that she would ever admit it. So yes, maybe it was true that she hadn't had as much time to spend on makeup this morning as usual due to her late start, but since when did Hermione Granger care how much eye shadow she wore to the office anyway?

"You have bags under your eyes. Are you not getting enough sleep at Roxy's flat? Or is this about the boyfriend? Are you having second thoughts?"

" _Minister_ , I was told this was a work-related meeting. And he's an _ex_ -boyfriend."

Hermione huffed. "Well, you can't blame me for trying, Rose Weasley. You don't ever stop by anymore. Your father keeps asking me what's going on with you, and I have no answers. _But you work in the same building as her!"_ Hermione flourished her arms and dropped her voice to an impersonation of her husband. "You know how he can be."

Rose turned toward the door, ready to head back to her office. She wasn't particularly in the mood to humor her mother today. She didn't get nearly enough sleep for this kind of conversation.

"Wait! No, I really do have work things to talk about. Just, sit down, alright?" Her tone changed so quickly to one of gentle corralling, that Rose almost walked out anyway out of suspicion. In her experience, this kind of edged politeness usually ended with some sort of untoward political favor.

Hermione must've have seen the look on Rose's face because she held up her hands in surrender. "I promise you I'm not armed, Rose. But I have been thinking more about getting your department more invested in our more public affairs."

Oh yeah. She knew that code word. Public Affairs meant press events and charity galas and fundraising efforts. Roses had not started as an intern in Magical Law Enforcement and worked her way up so that she could put on some white gloves and usher dignitaries around a ballroom until they spilled out their galleons.

"Meaning?"

"I want you to have a more public roll in this ministry. It's not good for you to stay in your office all day long without any more interaction than Deelia."

"What do you have against Deelia? She works for you too. She's seen your eagle." Rose leveled a hard look at her mum.

"Do not even get me started on-" Hermione touched her fingers to her forehead, and took a deep breath. "Public events like the Mungo's Charity Gala are an important function of what we do as public servant. Anyway, this is all a moot point. Because I already volunteered your name for the auction anyway."

"Mum! You're auctioning me off! That's completely out of line. I will not have some random men bidding on me like a common-"

"Rose!" snapped Hermione to interrupt her daughter's tirade. "I volunteered you to run our auction of donated items. We do this every year. Perhaps you have forgotten since the last gala you've attended."

Rose stumbled at her reply. When was the last time she had attended one of the ministry's functions? She seemed to recall Al going to his fair share. Only last Spring he had mentioned having to join his parents...and hadn't he mentioned Scorpius had been there as well? If he was there, did that mean Lily was also attending on behalf of the hospital?

Rose probably hadn't gone since Hogwarts if she was being completely honest with herself. She and Al had always stuck together when they were little kids running wild between the legs of the tall adults in fancy clothes, but once they turned into teenagers, their parents expected them to mingle with the other adults. And then the events became less like a party and more like a responsibility. The people they met at these events only ever recognized Rose because of her red hair and proximity to her parents. And yet they would introduce themselves as if they were her long-lost friends. And so, after Rose had graduated and started dating, her boyfriends took priority and the gala invitations were forgotten.

"Fine." Even Rose could admit that she had probably jumped to conclusions too quickly about the auction. "I'll go."

Hermione turned her lip up slightly. "I'm happy to hear."

Rose turned to leave.

"And Rose..."

She reached for the handle.

"Your invitation allows you a guest."


	9. Chapter 9 - NSFW

_This is a trap._

Lily flooed willingly to her parent's house. She had grabbed the floo powder herself, and she certainly remembered muttering her old family address aloud before the flames swept her away. And yet, as she stepped into the kitchen out of quickly vanishing embers, Lily suddenly felt herself boxed into corner.

Three sets of eyes stared at her in surprise.

"Lily!" Angelina shouted in surprise.

"What a surprise!" Victoire chirped from her seat at the table where she bounced her sweet little baby on her knee.

"My children never visit me," lamented Angelina. "Your parents are so lucky."

"What's this?"

Lily turned, still partially stunned, toward her mother.

"Lil? Still haven't changed the hair I see." Ginny held up a bright pink plush with a victorious grin. "Found the toy! Hopefully she likes it. Lily was a big fan."

Lily sighed dramatically. "You're giving away my baby things? Isn't that sacrilege or something? Isn't it your job as a parent to guard and cherish these memories until death do you part?"

"Hmm, I think when I took that vow my child was a ginger. So, I believe it's now null and void." Ginny said. She held out her arms. "Can I have a hug, youngest child of mine?"

Lily ignored her, and tossed a letter her way. "For dad. They keep sending me sodding ministry mail."

"Lily!" Angelina scolded. Victoire dropped her hands to become a pair of earmuffs on her child.

"Sorry," she said, not meaning any word. Victoire and Teddy's kid couldn't even wipe her own mouth. What in Merlin's name made them think she'd be able to retain and repeat a few curse words? Hell, Lily would be more impressed if that was the case. She looked back to her aunt.

"How's Roxy?" Angelina asked conversationally. This was part of the reason Lily tried to avoid family get togethers- far too much casual chit chat. Her aunts and uncles were the worst with it. She assumed there must have been a time when they had other more interesting things to talk about- war, staying alive, kicking ass, etc. But she couldn't remember a time in her life when her aunts and uncles didn't converge to discuss weather and kids. It was dull.

"She's great. Living life." _She's shagging strange blokes._

As Lily nodded along to whatever her aunt was saying about Roxy's job, Lily briefly let her mind wonder if Roxy was still seeing Andrew from the pub loo? Had he overstayed his welcome or would Andrew be the one that stuck? Only time would tell.

"What's funny?"

"Eh?"

"You're smiling at something."

"No..."

"You were," agreed Victoire, and the baby squealed, as if she too agreed with their assessment. Traitor.

Lily waved her hand in the air, stringing the sentence as the words appeared in her head. "I just... was...thinking about... a funny joke I heard... at work."

"Oh?"

Lily didn't even need to look over at her mum to know she was grinning. _Shit_. Her mum had always been too damn good at catching them in a lie. Ginny knew all Lily's tells. This wasn't even fair.

"Do tell us the joke, Lily."

"You know I can't quite remember. But I know it was funny. Isn't that always the way?" Then she laughed in a high, pithy tone. As if to say, _what a crazy thing to happen?_

"So, Lily," Victoire mercifully interrupted her cousin's psychotic laughing episode. "Before you arrived we were all just discussing babysitting."

"Is this a job offer? I told you not to listen to James. I'm earning more than him. Little ponce."

"No. Lucy has asked me if she could give babysitting a shot while she's home from school over Christmas hols. Teddy thinks it's a great idea, but Lucy is still young to be looking after a baby. Only 16. And I would feel better if someone stopped by just to check in a couple times to see how things are getting along. You don't have to be obvious or anything-"

The shoe dropped. "Oh."

"But I think it would put my mind to ease certainly."

"You want _me_ to check in on her?"

"We were talking about it." Victoire looked back and forth between Angelina and Ginny. "And you're still quite young, so Lucy looks up to you, but you're not like...Rose."

"Rose?"

"I love Rose, there's nothing wrong with her of course! But she can be a bit..." Victoire stumbled here. "Harsh sometimes. And while I would appreciate her style on some things, I don't want her to scare Lucy away from babysitting opportunities in the future."

Ouch.

"Okay, Vic. You got it. I'll be the babysitter to the babysitter. Can't be that difficult. I'm guessing this job doesn't pay well."

The baby squealed with laughter.

"You guessed right," Victoire said.

Rose smiled and gentled pinched Marie's toes. "You're lucky you're so bloody cute."

"Lily!"

"Anyway, I really should be getting back," Lily said heading for the floo. "The girls will be wondering where I've gotten off to. I'm supposed to bring back takeaway on Wednesdays." Lil grabbed a handful of powder of her parent's mantle. "It was lovely catching up!" She threw the powder and the flames turned that beautiful shade of green. Getaway green James liked to call it.

"We'll see you tomorrow then."

Lily closed her eyes in vain. Shite.

"Tomorrow?" She asked innocently.

"We have family dinner planned. We've had it planned for a month. You confirmed it with me on Friday."

"Ohhh _that_ family dinner."

"Unless you're hiding another family at St. Mungo's? In which case, bring them along. The more the merrier."

Lily grinned. "That's the Weasley family moto, I believe."

Ginny smiled back. "I'll see you and your brothers there."

Lily tossed a halfhearted wave over her should and let the flames sweep her back into her flat. She scanned the flat. It looked dark and empty. "Roxy! Rose! Hello?"

Silence answered her call.

Satisfied, Lily did an about turn and dropped to her knees in front on the floo grate. She waited a minute until finally the emerald flames revealed the face she had summoned. "Hey."

Jeremy smiled. "Let me guess, you found out my age. You're here to cancel our date tomorrow because you don't know if you can live with the truth. "

"First of all, it's not a date. It's a second non date. Also, yes I do have to cancel."

Lily had to give him credit. His face dropped and he looked genuinely shocked. She enjoyed that he didn't try to save face to protect his ego. "Oh...really?"

"It's a family thing I have to do." She paused. "But, I am free tonight if you don't mind a spur of the moment plan change."

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

"I think you should come over."

"You do?"

"I do."

"What's on the menu?"

Lily looked back at the kitchen that she was sure had absolutely no food stocked. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Weasley women were not blessed in the culinary skills department.

"Something I haven't had in a while."

* * *

"You seem upset," Roxy noted.

Rose ignored her cousin from where she now currently was laying on her bed, "I don't know what you mean."

"Well," she continued, "You flooed in, stomped into the kitchen, slammed every single cabinet, screamed 'does no one buy any fucking food', came back in here, slammed your door, and yelled 'bugger it all' and now I find you like this." Roxy gestured at Rose, who scowled in return.

"Well maybe if you had bought some food we could've avoided this scene."

"It's Lily's turn," Roxy replied softly, taking a softer approach as she went to sit on the bed. "What happened?"

Rose sighed. She didn't want to talk about it. In fact, she had been doing quite an excellent job of not talking about it for 7 days. Because that's how long it had been now since Scorpius had spoken to her. 1 week. She had flirted and laughed, and _fuck_ she had worn those lacy underpants that Lily had suggested. And now, she felt like a fool. Not just any fool, but a fool who had recently broken up with a long-term boyfriend that no one in her family liked. And now here she was trying to get a guy who was not interested. Could she sink any lower?

"What happened is my life is absolute crap. I have failed once again."

"What do you mean? You are a brilliant witch with a fantastic job. There is nothing you should be ashamed of."

"A brilliant witch who can't even keep a bloke interested. How do people do this? How did _my_ mum and _your_ mum Victoire and all these powerful women find someone who would stay with them? It just doesn't seem possible. It's too hard. I don't like it. I quit."

The stinging in her eyes was inevitable, really.

Crap. How was she supposed to lie her way out of this now that there were actual tears starting to well in her eyes? No way in hell was she going to tell Roxy about her silly infatuation with Scorpius Malfoy. It is pathetic to cry over a relationship- yes, she was reasonable enough to understand this. But it is even worse to cry over a relationship that never even existed. Merlin, how pathetic.

"He didn't even love me. Daffin didn't."

If she was going to cry, it may as well be about men in general.

"How can you stay with someone for so long and not feel anything for the other person? You would think," Rose's voice broke. The words started coming out easier once she really got started.

"You would think," she continued as big, warm tears now dripped down her cheeks. "Eventually your body and your mind would just sort of connect and think 'well now this seems right.' This seems like a person I could be happy with. But he never said it. Not fucking once. And you know what the worst part is about that whole shitty relationship? That I was such an incredible daft cow that I stayed! How desperate am I?"

"Oh, Rose." Roxy sighed.

She hiccupped through her tears. "What did you call him? Daft-ty or what not? Do you know why that's hilarious, Roxy? Do you know? Because _I'm_ the daft one. It's me. It was me then and it's still me now."

"Stay right there."

Rose merely turned her head and stared out her window, not bothering to ask where Roxy was headed. She just wanted to be alone. Perhaps this was her fault for not taking enough time to herself after her relationship with Daffin had ended to grieve properly. And now she was in a funk. The only things she wanted to do anymore were go to work and sleep. Yes, that seemed right. Sleeping didn't involve a second person around to make her feel inadequate about being alone. The act of sleeping in and of itself was about drifting off to be alone.

"Here," Roxy said. A glass was shoved under her face. Rose looked up, surprised. She hadn't even heard her cousin enter the room. "Come on, sit up."

Rose sat up on her elbows, looking skeptically at her cousin. She reached out to take the glass. "What? Did you make me a pepper up potion or something?"

Roxy laughed. "No. That," she gestured at the drink in Rose's hand. "Is whiskey."

Rose winced and immediately pulled the drink away from her face.

"It cures all ailments, Rose," Roxy said wisely.

"I don't think getting drunk is the answer."

"No?" Roxy asked. "Would you rather we sat here and talked it over sober?" Rose bit her lip, contemplating.

"Here's a better idea," Roxy said, reaching for the other drinks she had brought in with her. "Take a shot."

Rose almost said no. She almost held up her hands and ushered Roxy out of her room. She _almost_ shook her head firmly and declared that she'd rather be alone, thank you very much and that was her final decision. But then Scorpius's face appeared in her find, and the pain that she had been so good at suppressing welled up in her. How absolutely retched was it that a guy who had never been her boyfriend could inspire actual physical pain in her chest. Suddenly the idea of being passed out seemed like a welcome reprieve from the past couple days of bitter silence. So, she took the shot glass from her cousin's hands and tipped it down her throat in one quick motion.

" _That's_ more like it!"

* * *

This was something she could get used to, she decided.

Lily woke up to a gentle pressure on her stomach. It started off as light as mist. She almost didn't even notice it. And then the pressure became steadily more consistent, his lips making patterns across her skin, across her abdomen. She was tickled by his curly hair failing from his face and running across the most sensitive parts of her body. And then once he realized she was awake, his head began to dip a little bit lower. His tongue outlined her hips, memorized her curves. Lily sucked in a breath.

Jeremy looked up at her. "Good morning."

"Jeremy," she breathed reaching for him, needing to feel his back. Wanting to stroke his muscles that she had gripped so tightly last night. She wondered if she had left marks on him. She felt a prick of pride in knowing she might able to see red marks from where she had gripped him so tightly, needing to tether herself to something solid as the pleasure from him washed over her.

"Shh," he cooed. His thick, deep voice brought her back into the present. His tongue dipped to the inside of her thighs, and Lily's hands gripped the backboard of the bed. She made a small sound that might have been a moan or pant, but she knew it didn't matter to Jeremy. While last night had been unplanned, and passionate this morning was slow and careful. He was doing this to her on purpose- this slow, gentle manipulation of her senses. His hands brushed lightly around her center. So close. _So close._ His tongue continued his long, ever increasing path against her upper thighs. He knew what this was doing to her. "Please," she said huskily.

"Please what?" Jeremy grinned up at her, his fingers poised.

She pointed a finger down. He chuckled. And then slowly pressed his lips to her. Lily hissed. His tongue moved in and out of her, while his fingers traced patterns on her legs. This had happened so quickly- the two of them.

"Oh god," Lily panted. She gripped the bed sheets between her fingers. Jeremy sucked, and then replaced his lips with a finger, turning his hand so that his thumb could still stroke her. Lily bit her lip to keep quiet, but he moved his knuckles over her, and the moan slipped out. Curse him.

He inserted a second finger and pumped. Her back arched and she felt herself going over the edge, giving into the cascade, fully and completely. She let out a long gasp, her fingers balling into fists. Her voice was guttural, primal. It had surprised her to hear it come out. Sex had been good, sure. But had it ever been so instinctual that she couldn't control the breaths being released? This was a first. And yeah, Roxy had been right. She needed this. Oh god, she had waited her entire life to feel like this. Is this what sex always felt like? What an injustice to realize she been doing it wrong, and that it could've always been this fulfilling.

Her back settled back onto the bed as the effects of the orgasm washed away. She let herself catch her breath for a few beats. She could feel Jeremy's eyes on her. She stretched out her arms. "Get over here."

Jeremy laughed huskily as he was pulled to lay on top of Lily, their bodies overlaying one another so closely that it was impossible to tell whose limbs were whose. "So that's what happens when I don't dart out first thing in the morning." Lily's voice was low.

Jeremy kissed Lily's neck. "That...was just a starter."

Lily groaned. "You know we will have to go to work at some point."

Jeremy nodded. "Eventually."

Lily looked at him slyly. "I'm not like this, usually."

"Like what, exactly? Beautiful, sexy, smart, dedicated, hardworking, funny?"

Lily laughed. "Loose."

Jeremy just shook his head and switched his position so that he was no longer laying, but instead sitting on top of Lily. He ran his teeth down her chest pausing only to stop and swirl his tongue over both her breasts. And then he kissed his way back up until he got to Lily's jaw. And he said right into her ear. "Even if you were. Even if you had been with every man in London it would make no difference to me. Anything you were has no bearing on what happens right now. It's just the two of us in here. Okay?"

Lily bit her lip. But she nodded.

And then he swept her into round 2 before she even uttered another word.

* * *

Lily once joked that their parents had been disappointed that neither she, nor James or Al had ever turned out to be Squibs.

Their parents had liked to take them out in muggle London when they were young. The wizarding world had bestowed an unprecedented amount of gratitude upon his father after the war. He had read enough books detailing their history to understand enough about what had driven them into hiding. Uncle George told James the first time his baby picture showed up in a gossip magazine, his mum had cried herself to sleep. He was three.

So of course, they never really blamed their parents. But James knew he had always felt a little bit different from the traditional magical world. When Aunt Hermione had insisted their parents learn to drive, it seemed like an experiment in muggle freedoms. James had been old enough then to remember watching his dad stay up late after work to sit in a dim lit kitchen with his nose crammed inside a study aid. Ginny had laughed it off as a silly experiment of their aunt's, "just like the television, you know. How much do we even really use that?"

But then more muggle technology had infiltrated the house. And the car had stayed around- more than just a temporary experiment, it turned out.

James sat now, with his mobile phone cradled between his hands. He hadn't turned it on to look at since before he left England. The muggle phones didn't travel so well. Plus, when had he ever needed to call anyone anyway?

The screen lit up under pressure from his touch. _Loading. Please Wait. Loading. Please Wait._

The contact list came to life in front of his eyes.

Al

The name was like a slap to the face. It wasn't even like he had to work to avoid his brother because the two had never truly been very close. Not the way brothers were predisposition to act around one another. And certainly not the way that sisters spoke with one another. He had witnessed Victoire and Dominique practically strangle each other and then beg for forgiveness within the span of five minutes.

Even the few times Charlie had made it to their Christmas party, Bill had been engaged and by his side every time, eating up all his stories and re-filling his drinks all night long.

James couldn't see himself and Al in any of those sibling relationships. They were more like cousins...distance cousins. He was much closer to Freddy and Louis.

The name James had been running through his mind all day was one of the many he didn't have listed. Hannah, like most of his magical friends, didn't have a phone number. He clicked add contact and began typing her name anyway. Just because she didn't have an actual phone number didn't mean she couldn't be a part of his contact list. A mobile was supposed to carry the contacts for the most important people in his life- that had been the way his dad had described it to him when he was much younger. And he still felt that way about it when he looked at the phone even now. It listed numbers of his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, even Aunt Hermione's parents, and cousins of course. But with all those people so close to his life, how could he even for one second think about not including Hannah?

He punched in some random sequence of numbers so that the contact saved. And when he scrolled down to 'H' and saw her name squeezed in between George and Hermione, James smiled and punched off the phone with a soft click.


End file.
